Stormy Night
by Appleye2
Summary: Modern AU. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He came to help her. Together they fought the storm of the century. Hiccstrid.
1. Chapter 1

**A short story, written during writer's block on other stories. Hope you like!**

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Hiccup had the radio blaring, his brows furrowed as he hurriedly made preparations around his home. There was a cyclone coming, and although the news had reported it as only a category 2, he knew that anything could happen and it was best to be prepared. Cyclones were not uncommon in his hometown of Berk, a small farming and fishing community close to the coastline. The perfect spot for storms. Usually they were only a category 1 or 2, but sometimes they would get up to a Cat. 3. Rarely they would go to a Cat. 4, and he hadn't even heard of a Cat. 5 happening in the last few decades. Something he was grateful for. Cat. 5 cyclones were not ones to be messed with.

He'd already moved his cattle to higher ground, away from the dense forest and other objects that might harm them. He didn't like leaving them exposed, but knew the heavy beasts would huddle in tight and, although they would certainly be wet, they should also be safe.

He had then turned his attention to the farm. There was always stuff out in the open that needed to be secured or moved under cover so he'd already had a busy two days to manage all that. Every year he made sure he collected the items needed to survive the regular threat of cyclones. Even if the storm itself didn't do any damage, the resulting floods and power cuts could be a nuisance for days or even weeks on end. Especially where he was, on the outskirts of town. Any repairs needed to downed powerlines were usually performed in the suburbs first, where the highest density of people lived. The farms and outlying residential areas came last. That was just how it was. So he'd become used to being self-sufficient.

Hiccup glanced out his kitchen window as he filled more water bottles. He could see the old house which belonged to his neighbour, at the bottom of the hill. Hoark had since built himself a new house further up, and had promised to renovate the old one and rent it out. So far, none of that had happened. Hiccup had hoped the old man would just flatten the dilapidated house completely, as it was prone to flooding from the small creek that ran between the two properties. He shuddered to think what state the old house was in, as nobody had lived there for several years.

Hiccup was about to turn away from the sink, when he noticed a removalist van followed by a small car, pull into the driveway of the old house. His mouth fell open in shock. Someone was going to live there? And they decided that today was the best day to do it? Did these people live under a rock? There was a cyclone coming, and they wanted to move into an old building now?

He watched as two people jumped out of the truck's cab and proceed to the back to begin unloading. Of course it was the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Only they would be oblivious enough to do something as hazardous as this. Hiccup turned his attention to the small sedan, where he could see a blonde woman standing beside the open door. She leaned in to collect a bird cage from the back seat before holding it up to her face and obscuring her features as she apparently spoke to the bird within. She walked to the house and disappeared inside.

Hiccup wondered if perhaps his new neighbour didn't know anything about the cyclone, or maybe she had a death wish, but he decided he had better do the right thing and go down to let her know. Just as he picked up the keys for his four-wheel-drive ute however, the cyclone warning alert blared loudly over the radio, the 'whoop-whoop-whoop' sound never failing to make him pause. Stopping to listen, his blood ran cold as he stared down at the newcomer again through the window. The storm had just been upgraded to a category 3 and was moving towards land fast and furiously. It was getting dangerous.

-oOo-

Astrid lifted her long braid off her sticky neck as she fanned herself. It was very hot and humid, although there was a brisk breeze teasing her. She'd been living in the city for the last few years, but had been forced to move back to Berk in a hurry after her bosses demanded an office be opened here. The only removalists she could enlist at such a late date had been the Thorston's Removalists, with Ruff and Tuff behind the wheel. Astrid had found it difficult to keep her temper when the destructive duo had come barging into her small unit in the city, packing everything she owned into an assortment of cardboard boxes, then throwing it all into the back of their truck with their usual careless style. So far, she hadn't heard anything break, but she was still gritting her teeth as they rapidly dumped her worldly possessions onto the floor of the house she had hastily signed a lease for.

Looking around at the old house, she wished she had requested a sight inspection first, as the timber building had clearly not seen any love for a long time. She noted the dusty kitchen table and a few chairs waiting for her. Unfortunately, this house had been all that was available at such short notice. She sighed as she placed the travelling cage with her beloved parrot Stormfly, on the kitchen bench. She would have to go to the shops later for some cleaning supplies and put in some serious elbow grease. There went her weekend….

-oOo-

By the time Hiccup pulled into the driveway of the old house, the twins had already left. He shook his head as he took in the moving boxes thrown haphazardly across the front verandah. Fast and efficient they certainly were. Neat and tidy….not so much.

He walked up to the front door, his frustration burning at this stranger who had blithely turned up on the eve of a storm. Hammering his knuckles loudly against the door frame, he waited impatiently for the steps inside to reach him. The door was jerked open and a woman with a serious scowl greeted him. "What do you think you're playing at….." she began before her mouth dropped open in shock. "Hiccup?" she asked, totally flabbergasted.

Hiccup had been about to let loose but when he recognized the blue eyed blonde before him, he had stood back in astonishment. "Astrid?"

"What are you doing here?" they both asked together, before Hiccup smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "You first," he offered.

She leaned back against the door, with her arms crossed. "What brings you to my door?" she asked again, a frown pulling her brows together as she remembered the rough treatment he had just meted out against the timber.

"There's a cyclone coming," he informed her brusquely, his irritation coming back. "Why on earth are you moving into this beat up old house today?" he asked her, with a look that indicated she was incredibly insane to be attempting such a thing.

"What cyclone?" she snapped back at him.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and gestured into the air around him. "The one that's been all over the news for the last few days? Don't you ever listen to the radio?" he asked her in frustration. "Are you deliberately trying to make life difficult? Are you even prepared for it?" he demanded.

Astrid stood up straight and her cheeks blushed red in anger as she retaliated. "For your information, Mr Self-Righteous, I didn't know about the cyclone. I was too busy packing to get here to start work on Monday. Besides…" she leaned back against the door and crossed her arms again. "….from what I remember, the storms here were never much. We'd get all the hype, then freak out and the storm's over and done with while everyone's still wondering when it's coming," she told him dismissively.

"This one just made it to a category 3," he told her grimly, eyes narrowed at her casual attitude. Cyclones were highly unpredictable and never to be disregarded.

She hesitated at the news, before frank indifference settled over her features again. She flicked her braid back over her shoulder. "Is that all? I've slept through those before."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "In a house that wasn't prepared? And with no supplies?" he asked pointedly.

This seemed to have the effect of finally unsettling her, and she bit her lip in thought. "No…." she had to admit reluctantly.

Hiccup sighed heavily. He knew he had to help, even if he didn't want to. "Look…how about I get some tools from home while you see if you can find a radio or candles. Maybe even a torch and some food," he suggested with a cool glare.

Astrid glared back at him. She was on the verge of telling him where to stick his disdain, but bit back the retort instead. She was smart enough to realise she was going to need some help with this old building. It looked like an aging maiden…never touched by the loving embrace of a hammer and nails.

"Sure….ah, thanks," she mumbled, in embarrassed resignation.

He stepped off her verandah, heading back to his truck as she watched him go.

Astrid couldn't believe it. Of all the people in Berk she could have had as a neighbour, it had to be Hiccup. He had been in the same grade at school as her, and even though she knew who he was…the son of the Mayor…she'd never really made any attempt to be friends with him. He'd been the class screw up, the misfit, the one that everyone ignored or bullied. And even though she herself had never actually bullied him, she hadn't looked out for him either. She had been too busy working on her own goals and keeping up her grades to worry much about him. And now she was back in Berk, living right beside him. Although she couldn't help but notice that he had certainly filled out in all the right places as she eyed him getting into his truck and driving back to his own farm.

Shaking her head, she drew back inside. Apparently, she had managed to land in town right before a storm. Great…something else to add to her really bad week. She mentally made a note to have a few words with the Thorston twins the next time she saw them. Maybe they could have…Oh, I don't know…warned her about the freakin' storm that was coming?


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup was back before long, but Astrid was still searching through all the removal boxes. She'd managed to pull the last ones off the verandah and out of the light rain that was starting to fall, but her frustration was reaching new heights as she struggled to make any sense out of the twins method of packing. So far she'd found her shoes packed with the bird seed, her tea cups with her makeup, and her computer with the tea bags and sugar.

Her neat braid was slightly more frazzled than when she had started and she was muttering angrily while she opened another 'surprise' box, but still not finding what she needed.

Hiccup smirked while he leaned up against the door frame and watched her stomp around. Her legendary temper was obviously still intact then. "What are you looking for?" he eventually asked.

"Radio," she answered curtly, without looking up.

"Try the box with your bath towels," he suggested.

She gave him an odd look, but did as he told her only to find…her radio. She pulled it out and shook it at him. "Why on earth would they put it there?" she demanded irritably, as if he were personally responsible for the twins actions.

He shrugged one shoulder. "They like to listen to the radio while they shower. It doesn't occur to them that other people don't," he told her offhandedly, although he couldn't help a small grin.

Astrid merely frowned and continued with her search. She didn't want to admit it, but the news that a category 3 cyclone was approaching, had her feeling disturbed. But that was only because it had been many years since she had been exposed to a cyclone, and she had clearly been caught at a disadvantage. She did have some of the necessary supplies, but it looked like she was going to be forced to rely on Hiccup in the meantime. Especially if he had a better idea of where her things were than she did.

She _really_ needed to have a talk with the twins.

Hiccup had brought a ladder, and he used it to climb up and check the gutters. He was disgusted to see that most of them were rusted out. But that was okay, because the thick lining of slimy decomposed leaves kept the rain flowing through the gutters. They also blocked up the down pipes causing the water to spill over the edges, but hey! Couldn't have everything.

Astrid had finally managed to find some tape for the windows. It had been with her underwear…she didn't even _want_ to know the reasoning behind that one… but when she tried to create 'X' shapes across the glass, there had been so much grime that the tape refused to stick. So she had found a disgusting old piece of cloth that looked like it had died an unnatural death, and used it to wipe away the worst of the dirt. The tape then finally stuck to the glass, although Astrid was sure she was going to need a tetanus shot by the time she finished.

She heard a banging on the roof, and realised Hiccup had climbed up on the iron sheeting to check for loose screws. She already knew that two of them were driving around in a removalist van…..

Astrid hoped Hiccup would stay _on_ the roof, and not fall through the rusting metal as she wasn't sure what to do with a pierced Hiccup. Although it would probably be funny if only his legs came through and he was left suspended in the ceiling like that. She could stick an electrical switch on him and use his long legs as a ceiling fan.

Astrid giggled to herself with that imagery. As she continued with her work she could see the rain had gotten a little heavier, and she wondered if Hiccup had put on a raincoat. All she needed was a sick Hiccup on her conscience.

Astrid soon had her answer when the man in question came in through the front door, looking decidedly soaked. He didn't have time to tell her about the woeful condition of her roof before she scowled. "Don't drip all over the floor," she snapped, causing him to pause.

He pointedly noted the filth over the timber floorboards before looking back at her. "I didn't think I had to be worried about the pristine state of your house," he told her drily.

Astrid had the good grace to blush, as she realised how rude she sounded. Hiccup hadn't deserved that, especially as he had done nothing but go out of his way to help her so far.

She relented a little. "Let me get you a towel," she tried again. He sighed in relief at her offer but obediently stayed in his spot while he waited for her to return. He gratefully caught the large, fluffy towel Astrid threw at him and started drying his face and hair. "Thanks," he mumbled.

He had already turned his attention to drying off the rest of him, when a familiar sound was heard. 'Plink, plonk, plink'.

Both of them looked upwards to see water seeping through a joint in the ceiling over the kitchen… courtesy of the many missing or rusted screws above them.

Hiccup sighed. "Just great." He turned to the frustrated blonde. "Do you have any pots and pans, or buckets?" he asked hopefully, tossing the towel onto a box.

She shook her head. "I…uh…don't cook. Cookware only comes to my kitchen to die," she admitted shamefully.

Hiccup choked back a laugh, as he rolled his eyes and headed towards the kitchen to search for ancient relics that may have been left behind, opening and closing cupboard doors in the search for anything useful.

Astrid stared at the damp ceiling in despair. This was all she needed. A leaking roof in a storm. She _really_ wished she had organized a visual inspection before signing up to this place. First thing Monday, she was going to be at the real estate agents office, with a long list of things that needed to be repaired.

Suddenly a door slammed shut making them both jump. Astrid looked down the hall and could see rain misting in through a bedroom door. Rushing over, Astrid found herself staring through a broken glass window that she had missed earlier, her hair blowing in the strong breeze. Make that a _very_ long list of repairs she decided, as she heard the 'plink, plonk' sounds behind her multiplying.

"A window is broken," she declared loudly, walking quickly back to Hiccup where he handed her some old bowls and a saucepan.

"Of course it is," Hiccup complained in exasperation.

Astrid placed the items under the new drips. The kitchen was starting to look even worse, if that was possible, with all the odd assortment of items lying around the benches and floors, collecting water from the sieve-like ceiling.

Hiccup went to inspect the broken window in the bedroom, with Astrid close behind. He shook his head. "It might be easier if you just came to my house," he advised her carefully. He wasn't sure how many more repairs he could manage before the cyclone really kicked in. The wind was already getting pushy. And he was worried about that roof.

Astrid looked up horrified. "I couldn't do that!" she exclaimed crossly. "All my belongings are here. I can't just abandon everything."

He raised an eyebrow at her naivety. "At the rate this house is leaking, I don't think you're going to be able to save much, anyway," he told her bluntly.

She crossed her arms and stared at him defiantly. "I'm sure there will be at least one dry spot," she determined stubbornly. "I can keep things dry till the sun comes out. The storm won't last long anyway," she told him, confidently.

He shook his head at her. "It doesn't have to last long…only long enough to soak everything."

"I'll risk it," she decided firmly.

He sighed in exasperation. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

The bedroom floor was already slick with rainwater from the broken window and Astrid hurriedly closed the door to stop it spreading to the rest of the house. She shoved the towel that Hiccup had used to block off the gap under the door and soak up the overflow.

Hiccup picked up his keys. "I'll go home and get some timber to board that window up."

Astrid pursed her lips together in a thin line, but said nothing. While she was grateful for his help, she didn't like feeling indebted to him. She'd always been proud of the fact she could look after herself.

Glancing out the window, Astrid could see the wind had picked up considerably since she had arrived a couple of hours ago. The rain was really starting to lash up against the windows, and when he opened the front door, it blew straight in, sending items flying across the room. Astrid gasped as the cold rushed in, and she ran to help him force the door shut behind him. As soon as the latch closed, the breeze dropped inside the house. She chewed on her lip in worry, as she watched him make his way to the car. His clothes were flapping wildly around him and his hair blew in every direction as he raised his arms in a vain attempt to protect himself from the stinging rain that had already sprung up.

Astrid couldn't understand why he would be helping her like this. Even with her inexperienced eye, she could see the storm was going to be a doozy…and Hiccup was out there in the middle of it for her. She smiled to herself as a little warmth filled her chest.

Provided he didn't get killed in the process. That wiped the smile from her face.

"Hiccup, you madman! What are you _doing_ this for? You're going to get hurt!" she yelled to herself in exasperation. If he'd been in front of her, she probably would have punched him. Maybe she still would.

The sound of the rain launching an angry attack against the windows, and water seeping under the front door brought Astrid out of her reverie, and she dashed off to shift her precious boxes into the back room, which was still dry and unaffected by the weather…for now. She didn't have a lot, but it was still important to her.

As she moved the boxes, she quickly scanned the contents to see if she could find any useful items. She found some tinned food and eating utensils out of one of the boxes, shifting the items to her small coffee table. (It was a lot cleaner than the filthy dining table.) She also found some water bottles hiding in various boxes so she collected those too. A first aid kit along with some more towels was added to the table.

Hiccup didn't reappear for what seemed like ages, and Astrid was becoming anxious. Her decision to stay was weighing more and more heavily on her…especially if Hiccup continued to defy common sense and a serious breeze with attitude, just to help her.

There was still a couple of hours till sunset, but the burgeoning storm clouds had already darkened the house. Astrid flicked the light switch in trepidation. To her relief, the lights came on. Next she attempted to turn the taps on, only to hear a gurgling noise coming from the pipes, but no water.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she hissed angrily, slamming her hand down on the bench. Her bad week had officially dissolved into the day from hell.

Just then, a fresh drip from the ceiling started up on an unprotected patch of the bench. She scrambled to find another container to hold the water.

"If the taps don't work, then try the ceiling," she muttered cynically, as she searched upwards for any more new drips.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all for your support on this story! I was surprised to see so many favs and follows already!

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At that moment, she thought she could hear something over the howling wind as it desperately sought to fight its way in. Looking through the rain splattered window, she could see the blurred red shape of Hiccup's truck pulling up in the driveway.

"Thank goodness," she sighed in relief, then noted the irony that only a couple of hours ago she hadn't wanted anything to do with this man. Now she didn't want him out of her sight. But only so she could make sure he was okay…yeah, that was it.

She saw his watery shape run towards the house with a box in his arms, and she hastened to pull back the towel on the floor and open the door to let him in. He burst into the room, totally soaked with water pouring from his rain slicked hair down his face and body, pooling on the floor as she closed the door behind him.

"Here, take this," he gasped as he shivered with the cold. She took the box and before she even had a chance to say anything further, he had dashed out into the weather again towards the 4WD. She quickly closed the door again, and watched through the window as he fought to untie a piece of board from the tray of his ute. He was attempting to carry it across to the broken window and the wind was doing its best to take it from him.

At one point, a violent gust ripped the board from his hands, slamming it into his body instead. He was able to reclaim it, but it seemed he was now favouring one arm. He reached the bedroom window and Astrid heard the board slapping against the house as he took a cordless drill from his belt to secure it over the empty space. Running back to the bedroom, she opened the door to find the window half blackened out and the rain now on the outside of the building. She was surprised at how much water had already accumulated on the floor. There seemed to be at least an inch of it flooding across the room.

Finding a scraggly looking mop that probably had about a dozen strands to its name, and an old mop bucket from behind the laundry door, she rushed back to start cleaning up before the water oozed into the rest of the house. She could hear Hiccup's cursing as he worked hard to fight the stiff breeze and keep the timber over the window long enough to secure it. Astrid shivered in trepidation at the loud howling noises the wind made as it searched for entry into the building. It was almost like listening to a pack of wolves howling ominously as they circled round, looking for a weak spot to target. It had the same effect as far as she was concerned.

Astrid hadn't really achieved much with her bald mop by the time Hiccup finally entered back through the front door, bringing more rain in with him. He forced the door closed behind him, and stood there dripping, shivering and shaking as Astrid popped her head out. She had to smile at the bedraggled image of Hiccup, looking totally forlorn.

"Can I have a towel please?" he asked through blue lips.

"Sure," she replied, hurrying to collect a dry towel for him.

"Thanks," he muttered, still shaking as she handed it to him. Their hands touched for just a moment and she jumped at the impact.

"You are _freezing_!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he deadpanned at her, doing his best to dry off and warm up at the same time.

Astrid rushed off again, and dug through her suitcase. She pulled out a loose sweater and came back with it.

"Here…take that wet shirt off, and put this on," she ordered.

He gave her a blue lipped smirk, "Yes, ma'am!" he responded. He gave her back the towel while he stripped off his shirt with a wet 'shlurp', dropping it on the floor beside him. Astrid handed him the dry sweater but couldn't help but notice his well-toned chest and arms before they disappeared under the warmer material. It was loose on her, but fitted him quite snugly. He pushed the sleeves up and she noticed something else…the large gash on his forearm that was bleeding quite solidly.

"Your arm!" she gasped, grabbing it and pulling it towards her for a closer look. It was deep enough to require stitches, but that wasn't possible just yet. Astrid suddenly realised how close she was to a silent Hiccup, who was staring down at her with his darkened green eyes. She quickly dropped his arm and walked back to the coffee table where she had left her first aid kit earlier.

"You'll need stitches for that," she informed him shakily, hoping that he wouldn't notice the blush that had sprung to her cheeks. She chided herself for her behaviour, acting like a giddy young girl with her first crush. Her hands reached for the first aid kit and she efficiently pulled out some steri-strips, padding and a bandage. Walking back to him, she gave him back the damp towel and indicated for him to lift his arm up.

"Do you have a license to handle that?" he asked her quietly with a soft chuckle.

She looked up to see the laughter in his sparkling green eyes and relaxed. "Well, I'm all you've got right now, so you're not allowed to complain," she told him briskly, with a slight grin on her own face.

"I wouldn't dream of it, m'lady," he returned.

She mopped up the blood before pulling the skin edges together with the steri-strips, then proceeded to cover the lot with the bandage, wrapping it firmly around his arm before securing it.

"There, that will have to do for now," she told him, picking up the empty packets and turning back to the table.

"Thank you," he told her sincerely, as he did his best to finish squeezing off the excess moisture from his jeans with the towel.

Astrid turned to the box he had brought in earlier.

"What's in there?" she asked curiously.

"I didn't think you would have much here, so I brought over some water, batteries, candles and food," he told her casually as he continued to dry off by the door.

"Oh…thank you," she blushed again at his thoughtfulness.

He shrugged. "It was the least I could do for my new neighbour…especially as they insisted on arriving just as a cyclone is about to hit," he told her slyly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Other neighbours borrow cups of sugar...I borrow a whole cyclone kit," she told him cheekily.

He laughed, throwing the very damp towel on a box and walked over to find a chair. He tested one out, shaking off the dust before sitting on it. Looking over at the kitchen, he noted the odd mish-mash of containers, "I see your water collection has grown."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, looking back at the mess and listening to the cacophony of plinks and plonks.

"Well there's no water in the taps, so there might as well be some coming from somewhere," she spoke grimly.

He frowned worriedly. "No water? That's going to be a problem."

Hiccup strode over to the kitchen taps and turned them on. All he got was the same gurgling and clunking noises that Astrid had earlier. "Hmm…." he hummed, turning them off and heading to the bathroom. She could hear the taps gurgling and…gushing.

"There's water here," he yelled back to her. "But I wouldn't be drinking it anytime soon."

"Great," she muttered to herself, grabbing a water bottle instead.

Astrid heard him shift to the laundry, where the same result was heard. He then came back to the kitchen and tried the taps again. This time there was a gurgle followed by gushing water. But when she looked over, it was the most foulest, brownest water she could ever imagine.

"Yuck!" she exclaimed. "What am I supposed to do with that?" she wanted to know.

"We'll let it run for a bit and see if it clears," he advised. "Otherwise…." he pointed towards the water dripping from the ceiling. "…that might be your only option."

Something about the whole situation suddenly struck her as absurd, and she laughed out loud. She was almost hysterical as he joined in with her. She finally collapsed on the seat, wiping away her tears.

"This is the worst week of my life," she laughed. "I don't even know why I'm laughing!"

He shrugged and chuckled along with her. "It's either that or cry. Humans are a strange bunch. When we're sad, we laugh. And when we're happy, we cry. That's why I'm glad I work with cows. They just moo. No second guessing there at all!"

Astrid looked over at him for a moment, then burst out laughing again. "You're a funny guy, Hiccup! Where were you in my life earlier? We could have had so much fun!"

Hiccup immediately appeared stricken and Astrid stopped laughing and cursed herself. ' _Way to go, Astrid_ '.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Hiccup. I…."

"No, it's okay," he interrupted her, putting his hand up and standing at the same time. It was suddenly awkward between the two, and Astrid hated it. She had never really bothered to become friends with Hiccup at school, but the last few hours had shown her that he was a kind and generous man, willing to put himself out for others. She realised that she wanted him to be her friend, wanted to be there for him in return. Which was an odd sensation for Astrid, as she was so used to fighting to be alone.

"Look, I think you're as prepared here as we can make it. I'll….I'll just head back to my place, and maybe we'll catch up after the storm?" he asked in an uncertain voice. He looked at her with worried eyes, and she felt her guilt flooding back.

She gave him a nervous smile, a little uncertain herself. "Yeah, I'd…I'd like that," she agreed.

He went to leave, but turned back to gesture to the radio. "Um…better check that the radio works before I go," he told her.

A small wave of relief hit her, as the chance to keep him here a little longer rose up. "Yeah, that would be a good idea."

Astrid picked up the radio and dialled it in to the local station, the radio crackling as she did so. Just as she managed to get a clear signal, the 'whoop-whoop-whoop' of the cyclone warning alert sounded loudly, almost making her drop the radio. Both of them froze in focused attention as they listened….then stared at each other in horror. The cyclone had now reached category 4 status…pushing into a category 5.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh no," she whispered, her face paling in fright, her hands trembling. Hiccup grabbed the radio before she could drop it. Category 3 she thought she could handle. A category 5? There was no way.

Astrid became acutely aware of the sound of the howling wind, as it raged around the house. She could hear the whipping of the trees outside as they thrashed around, almost bent over double from the force of the storm. And she could hear the creaking of the house as it moved and shuddered in complaint. The dampness on the floor reminded her that this house was old and in disrepair, despite all of Hiccup's earlier efforts.

"Maybe we should move to my house," Hiccup broke into her terrified thoughts.

Astrid panicked. "But what about my stuff?" she worried. "And Stormfly." She grabbed the small cage off the bench and held it to her chest, the parrot within squawking at the sudden disturbance.

He shook his head sorrowfully at her. "I'm sorry, Astrid. We'll take what we can but the rest we'll have to leave here."

"No…." she didn't want to hear it, but at the same time she knew it to be true. Tears came unbidden to her eyes as the full impact of her situation hit her right in her gut. She felt the cage being taken from her, before she was surrounded by his arms, and being held against his warm chest. Astrid fought back the tears as she struggled with her grief and fear, while Hiccup comforted her as best he could.

It was a few minutes before she could finally regain her composure. She pulled back from him, wiping the dampness from her face with her hands. "Um…sorry about that," she mumbled. "Didn't mean to get you more wet."

He offered her a warm smile. "That's okay. It was your shirt anyway."

Astrid glanced up in surprise and gave a small laugh. "Yeah, that's right. You managed to soak yours."

He pretended to be offended, "Oh, so that's how it's going to be, is it? Next time I try to be valiant, I'll send you out instead!" he teased.

She pushed her braid back nonchalantly. "I didn't ask you to play hero. You did that all by yourself!" she told him flippantly.

He laughed, and she gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, Hiccup. I don't know what I would have done without you," she told him sincerely.

He shrugged carelessly, blushing slightly at the praise. "It was nothing." But Astrid knew it wasn't nothing. She'd been around the block long enough to know that men like Hiccup were a rarity. She was just glad she got the chance to find him.

A gust of wind rattled the window, reminding them they still had work to do.

"Um…yeah. We need to get out of here," Hiccup told her.

Astrid's heart leapt into her throat again, but she battled it down. "What can I take?" she asked briskly.

"Stormfly…and maybe one box of your really precious things. Photos …things you can't replace," he advised her. "The rest we'll have to stack up in one of the rooms and hope they survive."

Astrid pulled a face at his stark words but didn't argue. Between the two of them, they managed to find what she wanted to keep, and then repacked the rest, pushing the more important boxes into a corner of the bathroom, while the rest were squashed into a corner of the driest bedroom.

Finally, they were ready. Astrid stood at the front door with Stormfly held firmly in her arms. She'd wrapped the cage as best she could and hoped that would be enough for the little bird. Hiccup was in front carrying the box of her most treasured possessions, watching her. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

She took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be," she told him.

Hiccup opened the door, and immediately the wind blasted its way inside with such force that both were pushed backwards. Astrid fought to maintain a grip on the cage, the parrot flapping and squawking fearfully inside. Hiccup tried to take hold of the door frame to haul himself forward, but he couldn't do that and keep a secure hold on the box as well. The rain was being driven horizontally towards them with so much vehemence that Astrid felt as if she was being stung by a thousand bees. They somehow managed to push themselves outside onto the verandah and were gathering their wits for the dash to Hiccup's truck, when they heard an almighty ' _CRRAACK_ '. The sound whipped through the air like gunshot, clearly heard over the wailing and rampaging of the tempest in front of them. One of the big trees at the front of the property had chosen that moment to give in to the winds fierce demands, and split in half. The duo watched helplessly as the tree came crashing down in a blaze of flailing limbs and leaves….straight over Astrid's car.

"My car!" she screamed, seriously wondering why she was so surprised at the upturn in her misfortune.

"Mine too," she heard Hiccup yell, as one of the larger branches smashed its way through his front windscreen and over the bonnet.

They turned to each other with sickening realisation….they were not leaving here. Without another word, they headed back inside, both of them required to shut the door against the angry wind.

Astrid slid down the back of the door, her hair wet and plastered against her skull, her clothes soaked and sticking to her body. Her fear had taken over, and she was puffing as she fought against the despair and tears. She didn't care she was sitting in a pool of dirty water. She was going to die anyway. What did it matter what she looked like?

Hiccup slumped down beside her, the door rocking behind their backs from the wind. Neither said anything as they listened to the eerie whistle of the gale force gusts rocketing through the cracks. The rain had gotten even heavier, and seemed to be lashing the building as if it was personally affronted. They could hear the windows shaking and see the glass bowing under the onslaught. It wouldn't take much more before it gave.

They stared at each other with despair and foreboding. They were trapped in a derelict old building in the middle of one of the fiercest storms in living memory.

They were going to die.

"Looks like we'll be staying here after all," Hiccup said weakly, trying to be light-hearted.

"Hope you don't expect me to cook for you, then," Astrid countered faintly. "I'm hopeless at it."

Both paused, then gave a half-hearted laugh.

When you want to cry…laugh instead.

And boy, did they want to cry.

Hiccup got up first, extending a hand to help her up. "Come on, let's give ourselves a fighting chance," he told her.

She grabbed his hand, and forced herself to stand up. "I've fought for everything else…might as well fight for my life too," she decided grimly.

Hiccup directed them both into the bathroom, stowing the wet box of precious things he held into the cupboard under the sink to give it some protection. The parrot cage went in there as well and the door handles tied together with some thick twine. The two dragged an old beaten up heavy mattress from the bedroom and struggled to get it through the door into the small bathroom. It took a fair bit of effort and the dust from it turned to mud on their soaked bodies, but eventually they managed to perch it over the top of the old fashioned claw foot steel bathtub. That was to be their safety zone…the strongest place in the house.

Next, they gathered their left over supplies of water, food, batteries, torches and the radio. They put the lot into the container Hiccup had brought with him earlier and carried that into the bathroom as well. Astrid's things were still stored in the tiny bathroom, but they left them there. The stacked boxes seemed to bring a false sense of extra solidness to the ancient timber walls.

Astrid grabbed some dry clothes and a few towels, shoving them into a plastic rubbish bag and threw that into the room as well.

Glancing around at the carnage that was left behind in the living room and kitchen area, Astrid stopped to look at Hiccup. What she saw made her laugh, and he looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"What's tickling your funny bone?" he asked with a grin.

She stared at him, then down at herself. Both of them were still wet, and their efforts had left them with a layer of mud through their hair and over their clothes. "We look terrible!" she giggled, then broke out into a full laugh.

He saw what she was referring to, and had to agree. He laughed as well. "I feel like I've had a bath in what passes for water in this house," he added.

She nodded. "How about we freshen up in the 'good' water… from the ceiling," she suggested with a smirk.

"I'll go along with that," he agreed cheerfully.

So the two of them stood on the wet floor in the kitchen, using the collected water to splash over themselves. Hiccup noticed a mud smear under her eye that she had missed. He silently reached over and gently rubbed it clear with his thumb. She stared into his kind face with wide eyes, a shy grin on her lips. Then she returned the favour, wiping a mud spot from his ear. He gave her a soft smile and drew back, but his eyes never left hers. They got soaked again, but they didn't care as somehow, in the midst of a storm, they drew closer to each other. When they had done the best they could, Astrid turned to Hiccup and hugged him. He stood there surprised and wondering what to do, while she hung onto him. He finally lowered his arms and hugged her back.

"Thank you," she whispered into his chest, her voice full of emotion.

He gently kissed the top of her wet hair and murmured, "You're welcome."

They stood locked in each other's arms for a moment longer until he felt her shiver.

"You're cold," he noted, letting her go reluctantly. "How about we dry off a little?"

She nodded and turned to go…just as the window exploded.


	5. Chapter 5

**I've been amazed at the response to this little story! Not something I expected. Thank you for all your kind reviews! I try to respond to all of them, and for those who have reviewed as guests...thank you. I appreciate all your comments.**

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Hiccup's body slammed into Astrid's, dragging her away from harm as the window exploded inwards, glass shards scattering throughout the room followed by the heavy rain pouring in.

The wind roared through the breach, blowing whatever it could find and throwing it across the room. Astrid screamed and the house seemed to shudder and groan a little more. Her heart leapt into her mouth, and Hiccup frog marched her straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind them. Astrid slumped down against the wall, covering her head with her hands as she shook violently from cold and fright.

She felt a towel being wrapped around her shoulders before Hiccup sat close beside her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight as she turned and buried her face in his wet chest. Neither of them said anything for quite a while. They couldn't. They were being stalked by death and there was nothing they could do about it.

The two sat there quietly as the house shook behind them. They could feel it moving, hear the tortured twisting of timber and metal. Another window burst inwards, and Astrid flinched as they listened to the glass tinkling over the floorboards.

Stormfly gave a muffled squawk inside the cupboard and Astrid let go of Hiccup to go open the door and check on her beloved bird.

"You okay, Stormfly?" she murmured gently, lifting the covers. "It's okay, just a storm," she said softly, trying to comfort herself more than the bird. She poked a finger between the bars to give the parrot a reassuring scratch.

Hiccup watched her through half lidded eyes. "What's the story with the bird?" he asked gently, trying hard to ignore the roaring and moaning of the wind outside.

Astrid glanced back at him. "She used to belong to my grandmother," she told him quietly.

Hiccup picked up on the 'used to', but said nothing.

"After school, I went to live in Raven's Point with my grandmother. We used to love coming up with silly sayings to teach Stormfly. It never worked, but we still had fun." Astrid grinned fondly at the memories. "When grandma passed away, my parents had to sell the house. But Stormfly came with me. She's very precious." Astrid stopped to cover the bird cage and tie the cupboard door closed again. She sat in front of it. "My grandmother was a wonderful woman…my best friend." She shrugged. "So is Stormfly."

Hiccup nodded in understanding.

The door suddenly rattled and a breeze blew under the gap. Both of them jumped and stared at the door in worry, then settled uneasily as it stopped.

Hiccup took a calming breath and turned back to Astrid. "So what brought you back to Berk?" he asked lightly.

She snorted. "An ex-fiancé."

"Oh…I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Don't be," she reassured him. "It wasn't your fault." She paused for a moment. "Eret was one of my supervisors when I started work at the advertising agency. I thought he was handsome and intelligent, but I wanted to prove myself, you know?"

Hiccup gave a half smile and chuckled. Astrid's tenacity and determination was well known.

"Anyway, he started asking me out on dates, which I always said no, too. But eventually he wore me down, and I said yes. It wasn't too much longer after that we started dating, then about a year ago he proposed. I thought this was it, the real deal. That he loved me and I loved him." She scowled. "Boy, was I wrong."

Hiccup frowned at this. He'd always had a small crush on Astrid at school, even though she barely glanced at him. So he couldn't understand why anyone else wouldn't love her. She was tough and determined and knew what she wanted. But she also had a softer, gentler side that he found very appealing. The fact that she was one of the most beautiful women he knew, was just an extra bonus. He felt this Eret bloke must have been a total loser to have obviously not seen that.

"What happened?" he found himself asking. She flicked her gaze towards him for a moment. "Turned out he also had a 'special' relationship with several other girls from work. He didn't seem to understand that marriage means fidelity. Still doesn't. After I broke off the engagement, he kept trying to get me to come back. He was so persistent, that when I found out about this job I literally threw myself at my boss and begged for it. It meant I had to move in under a week but I still did it…until I dropped right into the middle of a cyclone." She snorted derisively at her own misfortune.

"Yeah….that could have gone better," Hiccup agreed drily.

She laughed, then stopped short as the wind screamed past the house. She could feel the pressure building in her ears, so she tried to pop them by holding her nose and blowing.

Astrid looked up at Hiccup. "So…what about you? Got any girlfriends or wives in the closest?" she joked.

He shook his head. "Nah…too busy. Besides, any girl silly enough to show an interest in me usually runs ten miles as soon as they realise I live in the countryside. No one wants to get saddled with a farm," he told her casually.

This made Astrid feel sad. She couldn't believe that girls would give up on Hiccup just because he lived in the country. He was such a caring and warm person…not to mention very attractive. Astrid felt that if given the opportunity, she wouldn't pass him up.

"So you've just been hanging out on the farm being socially backward since school? " she teased lightly.

He smirked at her. "Not quite. I did engineering at college first. I had a job in town till dad passed away. Then I had to come back to look after the farm." He said it all casually, but Astrid could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. When…when did he pass away?" she asked quietly.

"Last month," he replied sadly. "So yeah…still getting the hang of it all." He shrugged.

Astrid moved over and hugged him. He gave her a weak smile. "Thanks."

The light flickered, and they both looked up. There was another heavy crash outside, before the power gave up and turned off altogether.

Astrid's breath came faster, but she forced herself to stay calm as Hiccup left her to look for the torch. The seconds seemed to take forever in the pitch dark while he fumbled around. Finally he found it and turned it on, the steady stream of light piercing through the gloom.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out in relief. "I guess it's dark outside," she nervously chuckled.

"Yeah…must be about dinnertime," Hiccup guessed. He dug through the box again and held up a few muesli bars and a bottle of water.

"Would ma'am prefer the chocolate chip or the strawberry yoghurt," he offered, pretending to be a waiter at a swish restaurant. "And might I suggest the bottled water? It's the finest in the house," he grinned.

She rolled her eyes. "It's also the only water in the house," she retorted, accepting the food.

He ripped open a packet. "Yeah…the tap water leaves a lot to be desired…although I hear the ceiling water is a distinct possibility," he told her, making her giggle. "If there wasn't such a strong breeze, we could dine under candlelight," he teased, taking a bite.

"So romantic," she agreed, before gasping as another loud bang resounded through the house, making it shake in response. "Uh, Hiccup? How much more of this have we got to go through?" she asked tentatively, her hands gripping the water bottle tightly.

Hiccup didn't answer, instead he pulled the radio out and turned it on. They listened to the news about what was happening around them. It seemed that Berk was in the direct firing line of the massive category 5 cyclone. Despite the high winds already present, the most dangerous part had not yet reached them. Widespread flooding and damage was already evident, and the radio announcers kept insisting over and over, ' _Get into the strongest part of the house and stay there…Do not try to evacuate. It is too late to leave. Do your best to stay safe_.'

The repeated stories of so much destruction did nothing to quell Astrid's rising fear, and she could see in Hiccup's eyes that he was having trouble too, so she turned the volume down low on the radio.

The wind continued to howl savagely around their small cocoon, with the rain beating heavily against the outside walls, in an angry staccato beat. Water had begun to trickle under the door, so Astrid hastily shoved a towel across the gap to soak it up before huddling close to Hiccup again. They were still damp from earlier, and Astrid had started to shiver uncontrollably. Hiccup took another dry towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, encouraging her to sit between his legs and lean back against him, so he could wrap himself around her to warm her up. She moved into position without a word, but knew it wasn't just the cold that was making her shiver. She listened fearfully to the trees whipping their branches in a frenzy, the occasional cracking sound letting them know another tree had fallen victim to the tempest. What worried her the most was the metallic screeches and scrapes coming from above them. It sounded as if the roof was copping a hammering, and she didn't know how long it would hold out.

The banging started again, but this time it didn't stop. Hiccup nudged her forward a bit, so he could get up. Grabbing the torch, he put his hand on the door knob.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked him warily.

"I'm just going to check what's going on," he told her. "I won't be long." He then opened the door to a surprising amount of stiff breeze before disappearing to the darkness outside. Astrid quickly closed the door against the wind, the darkness immediately covering her like a cloak as Hiccup had taken their one torch.

She anxiously stared at the door for a few moments, willing him to come straight back, but when that didn't happen, she turned to the box, searching through it by feel to locate a tiny keyring torch she knew was in there. It took a while with all the other keyring shaped objects to fumble over, but she finally found it and turned it on. Even that small amount of light gave her some comfort.

Astrid wrapped the towel more firmly around her shoulders and pushed back into the corner to wait. At this point, if anyone had accused her of being scared she would not have denied it. She was scared out of her wits, and the longer Hiccup was away, the more deathly frightened she became.

The banging and screeching noises became louder and faster until….RIIIIPPPPP.

She jolted then screamed, "HICCUP!"


	6. Chapter 6

But he didn't return. Her heart beat faster and faster at the possibilities. Astrid stayed tucked into the corner, her breath jagged as she waited on tenterhooks for him to return. What was she going to do?

Finally the door reopened to a soaking wet and shivering Hiccup. She blinked rapidly as the cold wind rushed in and assaulted her before Hiccup was able to close it. Straight away she could see his bandage had come undone, and blood was showing through. Astrid stood and quickly hugged him out of relief, but the look on his face suggested something bad had happened.

She didn't want to acknowledge that look, so she grabbed his arm instead to take a closer look at the bandage.

"Hiccup…your wound…it's bleeding again…" she started to say, but he interrupted her.

"Get in the bathtub," he demanded forcefully.

"What? Why?" she started to ask, but the haunted look on his face was enough to stop her.

"The roof over the living room is gone…and so are the walls," he told her quietly.

"Oh…." She was almost breathless.

The sound of tortured metal banging started again and Astrid jerked violently at the noise. The ceiling over their heads started to shake and twist, and the door rattled hard in its frame. The wind gusted through under the gap and she could feel it pushing down from the ceiling as well. She held her breath and grabbed hold of Hiccup, but he lifted the heavy mattress from over the tub and forced her in. She kept a firm grip on his arm and dragged him in with her, not daring to let go for even a second.

He twisted around so that he was lying under her with her back to his chest, and grabbed one edge of the heavy spring coiled mattress to hold on tight with grim determination, the blood from his wound slowly dripping down his arm. She did the same with the other. Their grasp was firm, but still they could feel the wind doing its best to pull it away from them. They hung on, ready and waiting for the fight of their lives. They didn't have to wait long before they heard the final RIIIPPP as the roof over their heads tore away and disappeared into the night, the wind rushing in to seek them out like a jealous lover. The mattress was almost yanked out of their hands, but Astrid and Hiccup gritted their teeth, tugging back as they fought to keep their haven of safety around them.

The apprehensive young couple could feel the rain blowing in under the edge of the mattress, while the foam became water logged from the heavy rainfall. It started to drip through over them and they were soon soaked again.

They had to spit out the dirty water as it landed on their faces, and ran into their eyes and mouths. Both of them were puffing and panting from the massive effort required to keep themselves locked in, and though the tub itself never relinquished its hold on the flooring, they could feel the vibrations of what was left of the house shaking and twisting under them.

The splinting and cracking of timber spoke violently of more walls falling foul of the tempest. They could hear the bathroom door abruptly slamming open, swinging uncontrollably and hitting the boxes that had been stacked earlier. Some of them promptly fell over, spilling their contents all over the floor before the wind whipped the items away, along with one of the bathroom walls. The sound of nails ripping out as the timber fractured and toppled over caused the hair to raise at the back of Astrid's neck, and her breath shortened while she waited grimly for her turn to be blown away.

She could hear the cupboard doors rattling frantically and Stormfly's terrified screeching, but there was nothing she could do about it, except hope and pray the twine would hold and her precious bird would survive. Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision as she quietly sobbed and waited for the end to come. She could hear Hiccup's grunts behind her as he poured all his energy into keeping the mattress over their heads.

Astrid's strength was waning, but perversely, the mattress became a little easier to hold as it filled up with water, weighing it down. Although that soon became a double edged sword, as it pressed down threatening to smother them instead. Astrid felt as if she was going to either drown from the water seeping over her, or be asphyxiated by the heavy mattress. Neither way was preferable, but lifting it would have been instant death to the cold-hearted wind.

The hell they had to endure was relentless, and Astrid in her exhaustion was wondering if it would be just easier to give up and die. But the thought of Hiccup behind her, doing everything in his power to keep her alive inspired her to find a new wave of resolve to keep fighting.

It seemed to take forever, and Astrid felt herself growing weak from fatigue, her arms shaking with the effort to keep the mattress in place. If she hadn't already been cold and soaked through, she would have been sweating with the effort. She could hear Hiccup struggling and gasping as well, when finally…the winds seem to ease. Just a little at first…but then, it became quite noticeable that it had lessened, till at last they were able to drop their tired, aching arms and they just lay there under that heavy, smelly damp mattress, gasping hard as the wind outside finally died down.

Hiccup was the first to move, wiggling out from under her and twisting to slowly drag his body over the top of her, causing the pooled water to slosh sideways. She was feeling too weak to question him as he held himself there, his green eyes hazy with pain and exhaustion while he paused to gather his remaining strength. Finally, he heaved his body upwards and forced the sodden mattress off their hiding place. He grunted as he pushed till it eventually lurched sideways enough to give them room to scramble out…albeit fairly sluggishly.

They clambered out over the mattress, which was still half covering the tub, to stand and look around. They had to hold onto each other for support as they stumbled to regain their footing. The night was eerily quiet, and completely still. The bright moon shone down on them with no clouds to interrupt it's welcoming beam. It was a total contrast from the frantic and angry gusts that had assaulted them not that long ago in the total darkness.

Astrid was in a daze as she headed straight for the cupboard that somehow was still standing in the broken room. Hiccup returned to the tub that had kept them alive, and sloshed around in the bottom to locate the torch, pulling it out and shining its luminous glow around them. As Astrid undid the twine holding the doors closed to retrieve her beloved bird, Hiccup carefully stepped out to survey the damage. Apart from a couple of walls still standing and some of the kitchen cupboards, the rest of the house had been completely destroyed, broken and smashed beyond repair. The evidence of the mighty power of the cyclone was all around them in the disheartening display of twisted and broken pieces. Astrid's boxes of belongings had also been strewn about in the mud and water, no longer fit for any use.

Astrid drifted over to Hiccup, the bird cage in her arms.

"It's all gone," she whispered in a horrified voice, her face pale under the moonlight. A slight breeze ruffled her damp hair as Hiccup silently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. There wasn't anything either could say, as they tripped towards where the kitchen used to be, the shock having stolen their voices for the moment.

The sound of the wind howling was still fresh in their ears, as they searched for anything that had been left behind. It was surreal, the thin torchlight searching through the empty darkness, the moonlight above and the light breeze belying the fact that not that long ago, they had been fighting the wind and the rain. But now as they sloshed through the puddles, there was no rain at all. Not even a drop.

Astrid couldn't believe it. She hoped that she was in the throes of a serious nightmare, but the ache in her arms and the cold water around her feet and dripping down her back gave her no delusions about it…it had actually happened. Less than twenty-four hours ago she had been arguing with the twins about being careful how they threw her belongings around. It was with a massive sense of irony, that she guessed she wouldn't have that problem anymore…there were no belongings.

Hiccup walked over to her with something in his hands. It was one of the bowls they had used to collect rain from the leaking ceiling.

"I guess we don't need this anymore," he told her with a short dry laugh.

She looked up at him, then gestured to the flattened space around them. "Well, that's one way to fix a leaking roof," she agreed with a weak snort.

"Yeah…do you have a problem with leaks in your ceiling? Apply one cyclone and remove the roof. Now there's no problem," he told her in a dramatic tv-presenter kind of way.

She tried to laugh, but found tears washing down her cheeks instead, her chuckles becoming full on sobs as a wave of devastation overcame her, burying itself deep in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey…it's going to be okay," she heard him soothe, as he took the birdcage from her hands, placing the disgruntled bird on the floor and wrapped himself around her. He gently pushed her head on his chest as she cried bitter tears of loss and grief, the intense emotions of the last few hours finally rearing out of control. He rubbed her back and slowly rocked her as she poured her heart out all over his shirt. The corner of his own eyes were damp too as he held her close, listening to this strong woman give in to all the hurt she had suddenly thrust upon her.

Hiccup didn't really know what he could do to help her. It had been rather a rude welcome for her to come home too, and he was at a total loss. It was too dark to see his place further up the hill, so he didn't know if he still owned anything either. But there was another more pressing problem that they urgently had to attend to.

Astrid's heartbreaking sobs had quieted to sniffles, so he spoke gently to the top of her head. "Astrid?"

She leaned back slightly to wipe the last of her tears from her reddened eyes, and he could see she was feeling embarrassed about letting go like that. Not that he blamed her. He felt like bawling too.

"I'm really sorry about all this, but we have to go," he told her quietly.

She stepped back away from him, and Hiccup felt as if he had lost something.

"Where?" she asked, still wiping her face.

"I don't know exactly, but we have to find somewhere safe. Uh….the storm hasn't finished with us yet," he reminded her.

He could see her flinch as she realised…they were in the eye of the cyclone. And they had no way of knowing how long it would be before the other half came back to finish them off. And neither of them had any delusions of what their chances of survival would be out in the open like this.

A breeze swirled around the pair, as if to mock them.

He watched carefully as she nodded, then taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders, she looked him clear in the eye. She was still afraid, but he could also see she wasn't ready to quit just yet. He felt strangely proud of her, which was rather ridiculous considering she had meant nothing to him a few short hours ago. Well….almost nothing. His schoolboy crush on her was still alive and kicking, apparently. He mentally slapped himself to focus.

"Okay…let me get my things….she began automatically before realising what she had said. Looking around the blank space she shrugged helplessly and picked up Stormfly's cage. "I guess I already have all my things," she decided.

Hiccup smiled at her bravery, and led the way to where the front door used to be, and down the steps.

They picked their way through the limbs of the fallen tree covering the yard and their cars. Hiccup pushed aside one large branch for Astrid to get past, but as she climbed through, Stormfly's cage caught on a loose piece of shattered wood and jerked out of her grasp. Hiccup watched in horror as the cage flung through the air, the disgruntled parrot within screeching in protest. It landed with a loud crash, the door bursting open on impact.

" _Nooo_ ….." he heard her yell, as she attempted to scramble back but it was already too late. The little blue-green parrot was completely disorientated from the rough treatment and took the chance to fly, landing on a nearby tree branch. Hiccup tried to circle round the back of the panting bird as Astrid calmly approached from the front. But Stormfly was thoroughly spooked and was having none of it. Just as Astrid drew closer, there was a flash of blue… and she was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

" _Stormfly_!" Astrid yelled, but there was no cheerful chirp in response.

Hiccup felt sick as Astrid kept calling while he searched through the leafless trees with the torchlight. But there were no answering squawks or tweets, and no blue-green feathers to spot. Astrid wouldn't let up, so Hiccup let her try for as long as he dared, but each passing moment they stayed brought more and more trepidation. When a stronger gust caught him, he reluctantly told her, "Astrid…we have to go."

She turned on him, "NO. Not without Stormfly. I'm not leaving," she declared angrily.

Hiccup was gentle as he tried to reason with her. "The cyclone will be here soon. We have to find shelter."

"I don't care," she shouted back, defiantly continuing to search and call for the little bird.

Hiccup bit his lip. How was he going to get this stubborn girl to move? She had just lost the very last thing she owned, the most precious thing of all. But they really needed to go. He didn't want to, but he had to be brutal. He took a deep breath.

"Do you think your grandmother would want you to die?" he asked her roughly. "What would she say about you putting yourself in danger like this for a little bird who could be a long way from here by now? Do you really think she would be happy with your decision right now? Or would she tell you to snap out of it and move your rear end?"

Hiccup could see she was seething with the look of utter contempt she shot at him.

Her voice let him know he was in dangerous territory. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," he snapped back. "Didn't think stupidity made you deaf as well. Maybe you can explain to your grandmother why you decided to kill yourself over a bird?" he taunted mercilessly.

"That's a low blow, Haddock. And you know it," she hissed.

She glared at him for a moment longer, before shoving him with her shoulder on the way past him to the road.

Hiccup sighed in relief. At least she was moving. He would just have to deal with the fallout later.

They had to step through the fallen tree again…although Astrid shut him down flat when he offered her some help…until they reached his truck on the other side. Hiccup paused to check it over. He had just assumed that his car was totaled after the tree crashed over it, but once they were close up, he could see that it wasn't actually trapped. He worked to bend up the branches that were piled on his bonnet and smashed windscreen till they cracked and splintered, ready to be thrown away. Astrid watched for a moment before coming over to help.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but she snarled, "This means nothing. I just want to get away from this stupid place."

He kept quiet while they both worked to clear the car of tree limbs and fractured glass. It was soon finished, and Hiccup went to open the driver's door. He had to jump back as a pool of debris filled water emptied onto the ground, splashing over his shoes.

Astrid sniggered in revenge, as Hiccup rolled his eyes at her.

He pulled the keys out of his pocket and leaned forward to gingerly stick them in the ignition. He took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing!"

Putting the truck in neutral, he twisted the key….and was surprised to hear the motor respond with a roar. Hiccup cracked a huge smile. Finally! A win!

Carefully he picked out the worst of the broken glass from inside the cab before climbing in to squelch down on the sodden seat. He screwed his face up at the unpleasant sensation. Astrid had done the same thing on the other side, sitting down with a small groan of protest.

Despite this, Hiccup felt elated to have his truck back. It gave him a sense of normalcy, in a 'driving your own car even if it's soaked and full of leaves and glass' kind of way.

Astrid was still refusing to talk to him, so she sat with her arms crossed and stared out the broken window into the dark night with a mutinous glare. Hiccup ignored her and reversed out, the car jolting as he backed over some debris in the driveway. He set the battered vehicle in the direction of his home.

Hiccup hoped his house was in better shape than his truck. Only one headlight worked as the other was smashed, along with the missing windscreen. The bonnet looked like an elephant had perched on it and the tray was full of sloshing water and leaves….lots and lots of leaves.

The distance between the two houses wasn't great, but a small creek lay in-between. Normally it wasn't an issue, but after the heavy rainfall they had just experienced, it had become a raging river. Hiccup's heart sank as he stared at the rushing water. They weren't going that way tonight.

He didn't waste time bemoaning the fact. He merely turned around and headed back the other way.

Hiccup's neighbor Hoark had rebuilt on the opposite side of his large property, but to get there Hiccup needed to negotiate a winding road around a hill. It didn't take long before they noticed the road was choked solid with fallen trees. Hiccup stopped the truck, his one working headlight shining on the blockage ahead. They were trapped, and he needed to think about what to do. Especially as he could see the wind was starting to slowly pick up again.

"We're stuck aren't we?" Astrid spoke, clearing recognizing now was not the time to hold grudges….that could come later.

"Yep….." Hiccup replied briefly.

She watched a leaf blow in through the missing windscreen and settle on the dash. "So what do we do now? Go back to the bathtub?" she asked lowly.

Hiccup could see resignation to their fate in her eyes. There didn't seem to be anything they could do about it.

Hiccup was thinking furiously but he was becoming desperate. He didn't really know what they could do. The one possibility they had was a crazy risk, and he shuddered to take it. But they needed to be somewhere safe, and there was only direction to find it.

He turned the truck around.

Astrid's eyes widened as she realised what Hiccup was going to do.

"You can't be serious," she gasped, grabbing hold of the door handle with both hands.

Hiccup's expression was grim, as he revved the truck hard….and drove straight into the swollen creek.

The momentum carried them almost half way through before the fast moving waters slammed sideways into them, lifting the truck off the road. It spun around slowly, heading down stream. Hiccup and Astrid had to hang on tight to avoid being tumbled around like rag dolls within the cab. The water started seeping in under their doors almost straight away, and Astrid lifted her feet out of the freezing cold.

"Hiccup! We're floating away!" Astrid yelled. A fact Hiccup was pretty sure he already knew.

"I know!" he yelled back.

He hurriedly reached behind the seat to pull out a length of rope. He threw one end to Astrid as he uncoiled the other for himself.

"Tie this around your waist," he ordered, as he did the same. He could feel the truck rocking against the waves, and the tyres dragging against whatever was under the surface as it moved downstream. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He had hoped they would scoot through the water, creating a bow wave as they drove out the other side…safe and sound.

"Didn't quite go to plan," he muttered wryly to himself, as he glanced over at Astrid knotting her end of the rope. He carefully hoisted himself out through the broken window onto the bonnet. Struggling to find purchase on the slippery metal, he balanced as best he could before reaching back in to Astrid.

"Climb out here," he beckoned hurriedly.

She followed him, clambering over the dash through the broken shards and cutting her hands. She didn't even bother to flinch as she crawled onto the bonnet with Hiccup.

Astrid was still on her hands and knees when the truck suddenly lurched to one side. Astrid slipped on the wet metal, making her scrabble wildly for something to grab hold of. Hiccup lunged desperately towards her…before she fell straight into the frigid water with a yelp.

"ASTRID!" he yelled.

The rope around Hiccup's waist jerked heavily, and he had to brace his feet on the bullbar to stop himself from following her in. Astrid came to the surface, her arms splashing frantically as she took a deep breath of precious air.

With his muscles straining, Hiccup grunted as he fought against the river's hold on her, heaving on the rope to pull her slowly back towards the truck.

The vehicle dipped forwards, the heavy front end beginning to submerge and Hiccup's feet were already under water. He was still steadfastly easing her back towards him, but Astrid kept getting sucked under by the waves. Every time she rose to the top gasping and coughing, she lost more and more of her energy reserves. Her lungs were burning from fighting to keep the water out and the air in.

Hiccup kept tugging on the rope even as the truck continued to sink. Suddenly it rolled to one side…and Hiccup went straight in with a yell and a loud SPLASH!

The frigid water now had both of them in its grip, and it pulled them rapidly downstream. They fought to keep their heads clear, the rope the only thing keeping them together. The waves washed over them dumping them under, time and time again. Each time they would surface, spluttering and desperately sucking in whatever air they could before they were unceremoniously dunked again. Their strength was waning, along with their will to survive. The desire to just give up, go under…and never surface again had a magnetic pull for the pair. What was the difference? Die here…or further down.

The moon was still shining, when Hiccup saw a tree fast approaching him in the flooded waters. He tried to swim towards it, but his leaden arms refused to move quickly enough and he was swept past. Another one appeared, but it was even further away and he shot past that one too.

But a third one appeared, right in his path. Hiccup decided he wanted to be the master of his own destiny…so he dug into his dwindling resolve for a last ditch effort. He swam arm over arm… and was staggered to find himself getting closer and closer, until finally he reached out…and grabbed it.

He'd made it, but there was no time for celebration as he was still tied to Astrid…and the effect was similar to an anchor dragging him down. Hiccup felt as if he had been caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between two trucks. His fingers started to slip.

Hiccup could only groan as the pain kicked in around his waist from the tightening rope. But he kept trying.

Slowly, he strained to find a better handgrip but his body was on fire…from his heaving water-filled lungs, to his screaming arm and leg muscles, to his tortured torso. Somehow, unbelievably, he managed to kick a leg around the trunk of the tree, shifting his weight so the tree was fully supporting him.

Hiccup was coughing heavily and spitting up creek water as he freed his hands to tug on the rope that led to Astrid. The clouds shifted and hid the moonlight. His world went dark. Hiccup could hear the sound of the treetops beginning to thrash together. His sense of urgency kicked into a higher gear as he slowly pulled on the rope. Hiccup fought to keep his panic down when he realised, he couldn't see the blonde haired woman anywhere. He could only see the rope dipping beneath the waves.

Hiccup was desperate. "ASTRID!" he yelled, fear giving him a higher pitch. He kept pulling as he panted in exhaustion, his muscles screaming in protest and threatening to cramp up at any moment. He couldn't allow himself to believe for even one second, that everything they'd gone through would end like this. He refused to entertain that thought, otherwise his whole world would collapse. If he felt that the end of the rope held nothing but lost dreams…Hiccup would have nothing to keep fighting for.

So he kept pulling.

Until without warning….the rope went slack.


	8. Chapter 8

Astrid had been fighting hard to keep her head above water, but there seemed to be more of it in her lungs than out of it. She had no control over the direction where she was going, as the power of the waves swept her along in its tumultuous course. She knew Hiccup was at the other end of the rope as she could feel the tightness of it around her waist, and she was so incredibly glad that he had made that call. It gave her a glimmer of hope to know that he was beside her as she was dunked under over and over again, coughing up dirty water and spluttering each time she came back to the surface.

Suddenly the rope around her waist jerked hard, and she found herself being held fast in one position. The water rushed over her head, pushing her under and keeping her there. She waved her arms frantically, swimming for the surface with her eyes bulging and her lungs desperately needing air. She managed to break through for a small moment before she was pushed back under again.

Astrid could feel everything going hazy as her oxygen starved body slowly gave out. Her will to survive seemed to dissolve and her brain was telling her to let go…to give up. Just stop fighting and the pain will be gone.

But thoughts of Hiccup flashed through, reminding her of everything he had done to keep her alive. She felt she owed it to him to keep going.

She struggled with a renewed sense of determination until finally….she broke through the surface, taking in a huge lungful of air. It was enough to power up her drive and she noticed a tree close to her before she went under once more. Determined not to lose this chance, she struck out underwater in the direction she had seen it, swimming upstream. The rhythmic tugging around her waist told her Hiccup was still fighting too. Her hands touched rough bark, and she grasped for it. Her lungs were bursting and she was seeing stars but she was so incredibly close, she refused to stop just yet.

Her fingers wrapped around the tree, and she surged forward, a yell ripping from her lips as she erupted out of the water. Throwing her leg around the skinny trunk, she didn't stop till she felt secured and able to breathe once more. Astrid clung to the tree, her forehead resting against the roughness. She coughed violently and threw up what she had swallowed, spitting it back into the creek as she panted heavily, her body demanding the air that it had been deprived of for so long.

Astrid shivered uncontrollably and her arms and legs felt weak from the adrenaline rush, but she stayed firm. She wanted to call to Hiccup but she had no voice. But when she felt the frantic tugging on her waist, threatening to dislodge her from her perch, she tried to yell. "Hiccup…." she cried out in a hoarse croak.

The tugging continued, and she had to grip hard to avoid being pried loose. "Hiccup…" she tried again, a little louder this time. The tugging paused for a moment, and she felt perhaps he must have heard her. But the tugging renewed. "Hiccup!" she yelled once more, loudly this time.

The tugging stopped.

She could hear his uncertain voice coming back to her through the gloom, over the sound of rushing waters. "Astrid?"

She yelled back, "I'm here…in a tree," before dissolving into a coughing fit.

She heard the relief and concern in his voice. "Oh, thank goodness. I…I thought I'd lost you."

She heard the catch in his voice, but didn't have time to contemplate it as he called out urgently. "We need to get out of here….and soon."

Now that her ears weren't full of water, she could hear the wind blowing through the tree tops, signifying the return of the cyclone. If she wasn't already freezing, her blood would have run cold.

Astrid squinted in the low light to search for a way out. She could dimly see another tree and had an idea. "Hiccup…there's another tree closer to the bank. Do you think you could swim for it? I'll be your anchor," she yelled to him, her voice cracking as she coughed again.

She waited as he thought about it. The whole thing smacked of danger, but a chance to get out before the cyclone fully kicked in was a lot better than waiting for someone to notice them. Even in the few minutes she had been attached to this tree, the water level had already risen further.

Hiccup must have had the same thoughts as he called back, "Okay…are you holding on tight?"

Astrid adjusted her grip, bracing for the painful jerk that would likely dislodge her from her tentative safe spot if he missed. "Yeah, I'm good," she replied, before coughing to herself.

The next moment she felt the rope go slack as he let go of his tree. Astrid gritted her teeth, hoping this worked. He drew closer, and she could hear him striking out against the current. She was also able to see him now, and the flood of relief at having him in her sights again, really surprised her.

She heard the muffled 'thunk' of a body hitting the tree and she sighed. It had worked.

"Are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah…" was his breathless reply. "Just give me a minute," he asked as he fortified his hold in his new position.

"Can you see another tree?" she asked next.

There was another pause before he answered. "There's another past me, that's closer to the bank. But you will have to really swim for it. If you miss, we're gonna be in a whole world of pain," he cautioned.

She snorted. "Pretty sure we've already bought tickets for that bus."

She heard a small chuckle. "Have to agree with you on that one," he answered, as he coughed.

Astrid gathered up the resolve she needed to attempt such a task. She refused to give in. Her determination and drive to succeed had always helped her before. She was going to call on every last drop of it tonight.

"Are you ready?" she asked loudly.

"Yeah…go for it," he told her.

Astrid took a deep breath and pushed off from the tree, aiming for the one that Hiccup had indicated. The fast flowing water immediately pushed her off course and she quickly floated away. But she grimly forced herself to swim with everything she had, hoping that she was moving in the right direction.

The sudden jerk on the rope around her waist let her know she hadn't made it. She chose to ignore that, and swum harder crossways, aiming upriver. The pain was incredible now, everywhere hurt, but still she kept swimming. She struggled to raise her head high enough for a breath, but still she kept swimming. She could feel the tugging on her waist as Hiccup tried desperately to help her, attempting to guide the rope, and still she kept swimming.

Her arms were tiring, her movements becoming more sloppy and uncoordinated, but she continued moving in the hope and belief that she would make it. Her breathing became even more ragged, but she doggedly refused to stop. Finally, against all odds, Astrid's hand hit the tree. She was so surprised she almost stopped, but in a split second she returned to swimming…and this time, she made it.

Grabbing hold of the tree trunk, she pulled herself against it and wrapped a leg around it, not even minding the stinging scratches she could feel on her limbs. Her breathing was labored as she sucked in huge mouthfuls of the cool night air between coughs, trying to catch her breath. She could hear Hiccup's anxious voice, "Are you okay, Astrid?"

She could only nod, despite knowing he couldn't see her very clearly. She needed every bit of oxygen for her lungs. There was none left over for speech. Hiccup seemed to understand so he took a different tack. "One tug for no, and two tugs for yes," he told her. Astrid grabbed the rope attached to her and tugged twice.

"Okay…that's good." She heard the relief in his voice. "Now I guess it's my turn…once you're ready, of course," he reassured her. Which she was grateful for. She wasn't ready, and if he jumped in now she felt sure she would be easily yanked from her precarious position and they would both be lost.

Astrid tried to steady her breathing, and relax her muscles so that she could regain her strength more quickly. She could hear the whistle of the wind and the fear of being caught outside, unguarded, really had her worried. It still took precious minutes, but finally she was ready.

"Okay…" she called out, lifting her head in his direction. She braced herself for the impact. "Go…"

-oOo-

While Astrid caught her breath, Hiccup had been busy swiveling himself around the tree. The rope was wrapped around it on the wrong side, and he didn't want to untie it so he had been left with no other choice. The rough bark had cut into his skin as he moved and he was sure he would be bleeding profusely if the cold water hadn't sealed off all the scratches. He'd almost lost his grip when he was on the opposite side of the tree, but had grimly hung on till he was back where he started, waiting feverishly for Astrid's signal.

It finally came.

The clouds blew past, exposing the moon long enough for him to line up Astrid firmly in his sights. He didn't know how this particular maneuver was going to pan out, but he didn't see how else he could do it. He just hoped the soaked blonde would forgive him.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself away from the trunk, and aimed for her. The current quickly swept him towards her, although he noticed the drag was not as intense. Which meant they were close to the creek's edge. He approached her swiftly and he stretched out his legs and raised his arms in an attempt to reduce the shock, but he still slammed into her back quite roughly, making her gasp as the wind was knocked from her lungs.

Hiccup hastily scrambled to get a grip on the tree, and pushed back against the water, giving her room to move.

"You okay?" he asked breathlessly. She nodded, and before she could say anything else, he had dived back into the churning water, striking out for the bank.

This time he really noticed the difference in the current, and he was able to drag his beaten and bruised body onto land fairly easily. He promptly lay flat on his back on the sodden ground, panting loudly and spitting out water with his feet still dragging in the creek as he struggled to refill his lungs. But the whole time his thoughts were centered firmly on Astrid, still being held captive in the freezing stream. He knew she wouldn't last much longer, so he forced himself up into a sitting position and dug his feet into the soft mud to anchor himself. Holding onto the rope still tied around his waist, he coughed twice before calling out, "Go Astrid….go!"

He heard the faint splash as she wasted no time and dived in. He reeled in the rope to reduce the slack as fast as his exhausted arms would allow him until finally…she too was at the edge. They had finally won.

He stuck out his hand to help pull her in and she gladly took it, crawling up the bank and flopping down beside him in the wet earth. She puffed and panted heavily as she tried to muster up the energy required for the next challenge….finding safe shelter. The wind was pushing harder, the trees whipping together with a wild whooshing sound, and reminding them the full force of the cyclone was very close. They heard the sharp crack as another tree fell victim to the storm.

They needed to move.

Now.


	9. Chapter 9

Hiccup wasn't sure where they were, or how they were even going to find somewhere to hide from the storm, but he knew that lying here wasn't going to do it. He could already sense the water creeping higher up his legs as he sat with his feet still resting in the creek. He looked down at the exhausted and muddied blonde beside him with a heavy sense of trepidation. This was the girl he'd had a crush on for years…and how did he manage to get her attention? By almost drowning her in a flooded creek in the middle of a cyclone. The worst part was, he could still get her killed. He was sure that when this was all over… presuming they survived… she would walk away from him and never want to set eyes on him again. Not that he could blame her.

A tree fell down into the water with a loud splash, gaining his instant attention. Now was not the time to brood. Now was the time to get the heck out of there. Turning to the shivering girl, he gently asked, "Are you ready to move on?"

Astrid's gaze was cloudy with pain as she stared up at him, still struggling to catch her breath. "Would it matter if I said no?" she croaked, already knowing the answer.

The corner of his mouth twitched up momentarily in understanding. "Well, we could stay here and drown in the rising floodwaters, or be crushed by a fallen tree if you want…or we could risk it out there and find some place with a slightly higher chance of surviving. The choice is yours," he offered.

She rolled her eyes, "You sure know how to offer a girl a good time," she coughed.

A stab of guilt hit him in the chest as he shrugged. "Hey…what sort of a host would I be if I didn't at least give you some options."

She snorted as she tried to roll over so she could stand up. He hurriedly stood up himself, then offered her a hand. She took it, pulling on him heavily as she staggered to her feet. When she was finally up she turned to him, "When this is all over, remind me to take you out and teach you what a good time is really all about. I'll show you how it's done."

His heart leapt a little at the thought she wasn't going to cast him off, and he replied light heartedly, "Is that a challenge I hear? You sure you want to go against me? The king of dazzling dates?"

She gave him an amused smirk, lifting an eyebrow as she rested her hands on her knees, panting. "Dazzling dates, huh? Well, from what I've seen of you so far, I think I've got more than a fighting chance," she shot back in a croaking voice, then coughed up some more water.

He stood back and gave her a mock offended glare, his hand to his chest. "Oh, it's like that, is it?..." but whatever his offended pride was going to retaliate with, was interrupted as the storm reminded them with an angry howl that they had more pressing things to do at that moment. "Never mind..." he muttered. "Let's continue this once we're dry and warm," he told her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

Astrid gathered up the rope that bound the two together. "What should we do with this?" she asked as he hurried her through the twisting and flailing trees, ducking to avoid being thrashed by a shrub. "Hang onto it," he told her grimly, pushing through the bushes. "We may need it," he added ominously.

Astrid sucked in her breath as she struggled to keep up with him, his grip firm on her arm. Coming to the edge of the tree line, the two paused as they considered what was in front of them. It was an open field, but there were already lots of fallen trees for their tired legs to negotiate. The clouds flitted across the night sky, darkening the scene before teasing them with a thin beam of moonlight to show the way.

Hiccup searched around him, trying to orientate himself to where they could possibly be. He spoke up against the wind, which had increased in ferocity as soon as they left the protective barrier of scrub behind them. "I'm not sure, but I think I might know where we are," he yelled to the windswept girl beside him. She merely nodded, as she hung on tightly to his arm, the rope still bundled in her grip.

Astrid was finding it hard to keep her eyes open against the breeze as the strong gusts whipped around her, threatening to knock her down. She was sure that if she hadn't been attached to the heavier Hiccup, she would have probably been blown over by now. The wind dragged at their hair and their clothes, and it took a lot from their limited energy reserves just to resist it. She stared at the scene in front of them, wondering how on earth they were going to get past all of that. Astrid had no idea where they were, and could only trust in Hiccup to point them in the right direction.

"Let's get moving," he yelled towards her ear. "It's not going to get any easier if we stay here." She could only nod again, determination firing up within her as she prepared for the battle ahead. They stepped forward, clinging to each other, only to be immediately swept sideways. Hiccup yanked on her arm, trying valiantly not to trip over and take her down with him. The duo staggered, but stayed on their feet, stubbornly pushing forward towards their first obstacle…a large tree trunk. The easiest way around it, was to go over it. So that's what they aimed to do.

Reaching it, Hiccup grabbed hold of the fallen tree, as Astrid swung her leg over. She slid to the ground on the other side, keeping her hands wrapped firmly around his forearms. He dragged his leg over the top and was attempting to shuffle over when the wind blew under his shirt, making him gasp with the extraordinary coldness of it all. He jerked from the sudden shock, and straight away felt a stinging sensation in his arm. Looking down he could see red seeping out from under Astrid's palm. She looked down as well when she felt a warm stickiness making his arm slick and causing her to lose her grip.

"Hiccup!" she cried, releasing him. As soon as she did, the wind pushed her backwards then blew her over, causing her to land on the ground with a thump. "Astrid!" yelled Hiccup, pulling on the rope to haul her back towards him at the same time as he hurriedly sidled over the rest of the tree. They were soon reunited, although the blood flowing from the reopened wound was worrying. They couldn't stop to do anything about it. They had nothing, as the bandage had long since disappeared.

"Just keep moving," he yelled to her, as he kept a stronger hold on her shoulders.

She nodded, and they fought their way through to the next tree, and the next. All the while the brazen tempest was taunting them, teasing them, letting them know it was the strongest of them all. It whipped their hair into their faces, making it difficult to see. It stung their cheeks red raw and tipped them over, time and time again. Often they had to cover the same ground twice, after being pushed backwards by the mocking wind. But they continued to defy it, crawling along the muddy earth in places.

Occasionally, they had to duck to avoid flying debris. Unfortunately, the wind had great aim, and they took a lot of hits from small items that the tempest ferociously hurled at them with deadly accuracy. They cried out in pain and distress whenever they were targeted, but still they pushed on.

Astrid was feeling quite disorientated, not knowing what direction they were heading. Hiccup seemed to have a goal in mind, so she blindly followed him. She was grateful that the rain hadn't yet restarted, but as soon as the thought appeared….the clouds opened up and dropped their wet load on the hapless pair. The situation quickly became much more dangerous as the water made the damp ground even more slippery, and combined with the fierce wind they seemed to be going backwards more than they were going forwards.

The drops of innocuous water felt terrifying hard, like metal nails, hitting their bruised and battered flesh and stinging painfully. They were soon overwhelmed by the extra burden and the sense of despair, and the desire to give in became powerful. But holding onto each other, gave them the courage they needed to keep fighting. The battle could still be won, they just had to keep on resisting.

Just ahead of them Hiccup could see the looming dark shape of a house. He sighed in relief, turning to draw Astrid's attention to it. He could now confirm that they were indeed where he thought they were…at Fishleg's house. By the lack of any lights, he would have to assume that his friend had evacuated a long time ago. Probably something they should have done as well. Bit late to think about that now, Hiccup realised ironically.

Hiccup became so focused on getting both himself and Astrid that last short distance, that he stopped paying attention to what was happening around him…until Astrid screamed. He briefly noted her face white with terror, then hurriedly turned in the direction she was staring…only to see a wall of corrugated iron heading straight for them.


	10. Chapter 10

They had no time to react and the corrugated iron slammed into them, knocking them both flying. Hiccup rolled over the top of Astrid as he took the brunt of the hit. He had no control over his actions, except to note the extremely sharp pain coming from his left leg.

Hiccup yelled, and Astrid screamed as they became tangled in the iron, both dragged along relentlessly by the unforgiving metal. He was thrown to the ground with a solid thump, his back taking the impact and knocking the wind from his lungs. He coughed, tasting blood in his mouth. Astrid was half over the top of him, and he grabbed hold of her, but it was of no use. The metal spun them again, the rope around their waists entangling them and it together. The iron acted like a huge deadly sail, pulling them along the ground, bouncing them through the mud and off each other. The pain in Hiccup's leg was searing, and he was almost ready to pass out from it. He didn't know what damage he had received, but he was going to bet it wasn't good.

Neither of the pair could do anything to protect themselves or each other, and the tidal wave of pain that descended over them both was incredible. Hiccup could feel the blood spraying from his wounds, making it even harder to get a grip on the rain slicked metal. They tumbled over again, till the iron suddenly jolted and stopped. It had crashed against something hard, but Hiccup wasn't waiting to find out what it was. He had landed over Astrid, and his weight was making it difficult for her to breathe.

He shifted, but the throbbing in his leg flared fiercely him making him shout in agony. Astrid shuffled out from her position, and she hovered anxiously over him looking for the source of his discomfit. What she saw made her pale and muddied face even paler. "Oh Hiccup…your leg…your leg," she stuttered anxiously, as she desperately thought about what to do.

For the moment, they were covered by the twisted iron and slightly protected from the wind and rain. It rocked, pulling on the rope tied to them both and reminding them they were still at its mercy. "Cut the rope…cut the rope," Hiccup yelled frantically, scrabbling for a handhold to stop himself moving.

"How?" she screamed back, wildly searching for anything useful.

"Use the edge of the iron," he shouted, sucking in deep breaths against the tremendous stinging.

Astrid clambered over him to get closer to a sharp edge, yanking on the closest part of the rope. She had to shuffle out into the rain but she sawed the rope against the iron with as much frantic energy as she could muster, aware that every tug was hurting him. Hiccup groaned and gritted his teeth through the agony, hoping that Astrid would achieve her goal soon.

"I'm almost there," she yelled to a relieved Hiccup, but there was no time to celebrate as the iron shifted and bounced against its restraint. The rope was still attached, and it yanked on Hiccup making him shout with the searing hot burning sensation shooting up his leg. Astrid could only watch helplessly while she vigorously renewed her efforts to cut the rope, chanting to herself, "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on," as she willed the rope to hurry up and break.

Thankfully….it finally did, and Hiccup let his head fall back to the ground in relief. ' _One hurdle down…a million more to go_ ,' he thought grimly to himself. Astrid rapidly untangled the two rope ends from the iron, tucking hers around her waist. Dripping wet, she crawled back up to Hiccup, and shoved his shirt up his torso to reach the coiled threads that had slipped under the material ages ago. She gasped at the bruising and rope burns on his skin, but didn't stop as she tried to use her frozen fingers to untie the rope from his waist. It was proving a difficult task as the fibers had swollen with the water and it was practically impossible to shift. Bending forward, she used her teeth on the knot to give herself some grip, spitting out loose threads as she went.

Hiccup lay back, half aware of Astrid on his stomach, and trying to get his mind to focus. But the deep throbbing in his calf kept stealing his attention and it was all he could do not to yell uncontrollably. As it was, tears slid off his cheeks to be swallowed up by the earth, while he huffed and panted heavily. He could feel the blood dripping from the wound in his leg, and wondered if he was going to bleed to death out here.

Astrid growled as she became more and more frustrated. The stubborn knot simply refused to budge. She brought her teeth to the fibers once more, tickling Hiccup's stomach with her breathe, and she tugged as hard as she dared. She paused as she felt something move. Sitting back, she examined the knot again in the low light, the wind rushing through and blowing her hair across her face. The lump of twisted cord felt a little softer. Astrid put her teeth to it again…and this time it really moved. A grin stretched across her face as she sat up a little to rapidly untie it the rest of the way. "Yes!" she crowed, as the rope slithered out from around his raw skin. But she didn't stop to celebrate, instead shuffling down to Hiccup's leg with her prize.

Her grin instantly sobered as she looked at the mess that was Hiccup's left leg. The metal had cut through his heavy jeans and into the side of his leg, leaving a long jagged gash, and exposing flesh and sinew. There was a large pool of blood congealing under him, with a generous coating of red sprayed over the inside of the corrugated iron from when they had been rolling around. Astrid herself was also coated with it, and the metallic blood smell mixed unpleasantly with the smell of their iron cage.

Looking at Hiccup's wound, Astrid found herself starting to panic, but she forced her fear down and concentrated on him. She needed to stop the bleeding and somehow hold it all together so they could get out of here. Their metal shelter had been rocking enthusiastically the entire time and even now, was threatening to lift and fly away. Gingerly, she reached down to force the uneven wound edges together, before rearranging the shredded jeans material over the deep cut, then lashing it all together with the rope. Her hands were covered in his blood as Hiccup grunted, his teeth grinding together as she worked, but she refused to look at him. Once she had finished, she crawled back up to stare anxiously into his face.

"Do you think you can move, Hiccup?" she asked, her eyes round and her loosened hair flying freely across her face.

He stared back at her with reddened eyes. "I'm not gonna like it, but I'm gonna have to," he answered through clenched teeth.

"You can use me as a crutch," she told him, helping him to sit up. Hiccup groaned at the movement, and tentatively reached down to feel around Astrid's patch job. "I'm sure there's a good joke in there somewhere," he joked feebly, even as he hissed in pain. "Good job, by the way. I may have to keep you around…to keep patching me up," he teased through his jagged breaths. A watery smile flitted across her pale features, and she gave him a gentle backhand against his chest. "If you'd just stop putting yourself in danger you wouldn't need my help," she reprimanded him loudly. It was hard to hear over the freight train volume of the wind and the rain. Astrid worriedly glanced out at the weather they soon would be exposed to. "How about we save this conversation for later, hey?" she asked, turning back to Hiccup. "We gotta move."

He nodded his agreement. Turning over to get up on his hands and knees, he bit his lip to prevent from crying out, as the movement felt like it had ripped his wound apart. He slowly crawled out with Astrid by his side, but nearly fell over as the wind whooshed fiercely and shoved at him, the rain instantly driving into his exposed flesh making him suck his breath in sharply. The cyclone had hit full force, and it was going to be a long and dangerous haul to get anywhere. He reached out to wrap an arm around Astrid's huddled shoulders to keep her close, and she didn't resist.

Hiccup squinted hard against the stinging rain, trying to gauge which direction they needed to go. The dark night made it difficult to see anything, but dim flashes of light through the sky showed him just how far they had been blown off course. But he could still see the house, although they would have to approach it from the opposite side…and would need to aim directly into the wind to get there.

The curled up iron behind them bounced again, now that it was free from the heavy weights that had tied it down, and it spun sideways. Hiccup swiveled his neck round to look behind him and saw it coming. He pushed Astrid flat to the ground and threw himself over her back in an effort to protect her, but the corrugated metal landed on them both anyway. The considerable weight of it caused them to lose their breath as it rolled over, pushing them even further into the mud. Hiccup shouted ferociously and Astrid coughed. Fortunately, it was only for a moment, as the wind snatched it away to play with it some more…and it was gone.

The two struggled to get back on their knees. Hiccup yelled in her ear, "You okay?" She nodded, and he breathed a sigh of relief, even as he fought against the fresh surge of pain. He pointed towards the house, and she nodded again, her wet hair plastered to her skull. They were both saturated to the bone, and freezing cold. They desperately needed to get out of the wind and rain soon, because if the elements didn't get to them, then the hypothermia would.

They couldn't stand up for the breeze was too strong, so there was nothing for it, except to begin the long, slow crawl in the mud and wind. So they squared their shoulders, squeezed their eyes almost shut, hung their heads low and kept moving. Astrid stuck close to Hiccup's side, to keep an eye on him. He was in a lot of pain, but he kept persisting. Hiccup was also watching her, and doing his best to shield her from the direct force of the tempest aiming straight at them, despite the deep ache in his leg. It hurt with every single movement, but he dare not stop. He did not have that luxury.

Painfully, slowly, they kept their bodies as low to the ground as possible, digging their muddied and frozen fingers into the soft ground to inch themselves along. The constant rain made the earth slippery, and filled their eyes and ears to the brim, no matter how many times they attempted to wipe their faces clear. The angry tempest whirled and roared around them, pushing them back, forcing them to lock arms around each other to stay together. They endured the countless sticks, leaves and the bullet like effect of the rain to keep moving, always aiming for the safety of the house. It loomed out at them, teasing them with the safety it provided….if only they could reach it.

The pair were completely exhausted, they had been enduring in the extreme conditions for hours. Both of them only wanted to curl up and sleep forever, but they couldn't. The cold seeped into their bones, and they had stopped shivering a while ago...a sure sign that their core temperature had dropped dangerously low. They stumbled and fell over more times than they could count. But each time, they got up and kept moving, always moving. It seemed for both of them, their hazy thoughts were locked on to one thing only...one more step, one more step, one more step, keep going till we make it, keep going, keep going...

Until finally...they made it.


	11. Chapter 11

The feeling of total relief could not begin to be expressed by the two utterly wretched souls who clung to the side of the old fashioned timber house, the cyclone swirling around them. Hiccup had felt his mind going numb from the sheer hopelessness of their situation, but they had finally arrived. They were going to be safe...as soon as they could get in.

The two were currently sprawled on the back steps of Fishlegs home puffing heavily as they clung together for reassurance and warmth. It was an old but well-built timber construction sitting on short stumps, about two foot high. The door was made of solid timber except for the glass window pane at the top.

Hiccup and Astrid were on the leeward side of the house, but the angry gusts were still pushing them, ready to claim them once more. Hiccup stood up painfully, leaning heavily on Astrid and dragging himself up by the railing to do so.

"We're here," Hiccup joked weakly. "Welcome home."

"Is this your place?" Astrid asked tiredly, from under his shoulder. She held a supporting arm around his waist.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, this is where Fishlegs lives," he informed her, as he reached up and tried the door knob. "Locked," he muttered.

Astrid searched the ground beside the steps with bleary eyes. "Do you think Fishlegs would mind if we used a different key?" she asked in a cracked voice as she pointed out a hand sized rock on the ground.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, his wet hair hanging limply across his face. "We will never hear the end of it…but since we can't stand here and wait till he invites us in…I suggest we go ahead and let ourselves in," he agreed.

Astrid slowly unhooked herself from around Hiccup's waist, making sure he was secure leaning against the railing, before bending over to collect the rock and handing it to him. He tested the weight in his hand, scrutinizing the best way to break in. "We'll go for the window," he decided, shuffling along the wall, and using the house to support him as he moved. Astrid quickly planted herself under his shoulder again when she saw him biting hard on his lip to suppress the groan of pain as he tried hard not to jar his injury.

"Thanks," he told her, giving her a wan smile.

She rolled her lips thinly together in return. Astrid couldn't believe she was here. It had been an agonizing and tortuous journey, but they were alive and she only had Hiccup to thank for that. Without him, she shuddered to think where she would be right now. And even though she was so exhausted that she could barely think coherently and was flat out holding herself up right now, she was happy to repay him with whatever she had. Which was a shoulder to lean on for the moment. For she certainly had nothing else to give him.

Hiccup paused to lean against the wall beside the window. He gently pulled her behind him and held the rock up level with the window….before turning his head away and smashing the glass. Instantly the tinkle of the broken shards hitting the ground could be heard above the roar of the wind. He turned to inspect his work, cleaning up some of the sharp edges with the rock. Throwing it back on the ground…it's work was done…he reached in to unlatch the window and opened it. Shifting back to Astrid, she saw the question in his eyes. He was unable to clamber through…but she could.

Astrid stared at the window. It was still a little high for her to climb through but Hiccup had the answer, even if she wasn't particularly thrilled about it. If he'd had two good legs, he could have gone in himself. But because one leg was out of action, he would have to brace his back against the wall and help her to use him as a ladder to sneak in the window. Hopefully without falling over. Or out.

Even though she'd been close to him so many times already tonight, this just seemed to up the intimacy level a little more than she was comfortable with. She felt quite awkward about the situation, despite telling herself that these were desperate times, calling for desperate measures. The rampaging roar of the wind and the heavy rain pouring down her face reminded her of that.

He was waiting expectantly for her, so she licked her cold lips in nervousness before reaching up and placing her hands on both of his shoulders. He gazed down at her with his green eyes so close to hers, and she could see the veil of pain and complete exhaustion in them as he placed both of his hands around her waist. He bent his good knee to lock himself into position against the wall, although Astrid noticed the wince he gave when he disturbed his injured leg.

She bent her knees slightly in preparation, ready for his signal to jump.

"Ready?" he breathed quietly into her ear.

She nodded.

"Go!" She bounced off the balls of her feet, at the same time as he gripped her waist firmly and hoisted her up, all his weight heading down on his good leg. She landed one bent knee on his thigh, making him groan quietly, then reached up to take hold of the window frame, ready to haul herself through. She could hear him struggling to keep his one-legged balance while she carefully drew her other foot up and placed it on his thigh as well. She had to drag her body over Hiccup's screwed up face, as she pushed herself up and over his shoulder, pulling one knee up to land on the windowsill. He shifted his hands from her waist to her thighs to keep her steady.

Astrid barely had enough time to shift her weight from him to the window, before Hiccup overbalanced with a yelp, and fell crashing to the ground with a loud, pained cry.

"Hiccup!" she yelled in distress, hurriedly clambering down to the floor in the darkened room, then staggering over to the door where she was met with three locks to negotiate. "Fishlegs…." she cursed violently, "…do you really need this many locks? What are you hiding in here, anyway?"

Fumbling with the locks in the low light with uncooperative fingers seemed to take forever as she listened to Hiccup groaning in tune with the tempest outside. But finally, she managed to do it, opening the door violently and rushing down the stairs.

Hiccup hastily stuck his hand in the air and urgently yelled, "Don't let the door slam!" as it started to close behind her. Astrid's eyes opened wide and she quickly turned back, helplessly watching as the gap closed up. But at the last moment, she managed to stick her foot in the doorway and cringed as it was painfully crushed. Hiccup fell back against the earth in relief. The pain coursing through his body had sucked his breath away momentarily, and he didn't think he would be able to repeat the effort to get her in the window again. Not unless he stayed on the ground and pushed her up. Maybe not.

He was still flat out when Astrid managed to secure the door open and hastened over to help him. But as she bent over him, he held out his hand to stop her. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Hear what? The wind's making too much noise."

He held his finger up, his ear cocked to the underside of the building. "I can hear whining," he told her.

"Well, it wasn't me," she responded tiredly. He merely raised an eyebrow at her, before listening again. "No, I can definitely hear something...it's under the house," he decided, turning to squint into the darkness. Astrid kneeled down beside him and tried to see for herself. "It's too dark, " she told him, stating the obvious.

"Can you find a torch?" he asked, as she helped him to sit up out of the mud. He grunted at the stinging in his leg. "Sorry," she mumbled as he shook his head. "Hiccup, we need to get you inside...remember? Over compensating cyclone out here, ready to blast us into oblivion?" she reminded him. The wind rushed past, as the sound of a tree splintering apart reinforced her message.

He grabbed hold of her arm, but not for support...he wanted her attention. "If there is something...or someone...else out here, I don't want to leave them under there completely exposed," he told her firmly. Astrid bit her lip as she frowned and recalled the arduous trip the two had just completed, and knew he was right. She wanted to crawl inside and sleep for a week, but knew they wouldn't have any peace till they found out what was making the noise.

"Okay," she rescinded wearily. "Let's get you inside first, then I can look for the torch and come back here to search for whatever it is," she told him, attempting to drag him up by his arms, but he resisted. "No...I want to stay and keep listening. The torch is always in the cupboard next to the back door anyway."

She sighed, and released him. "Okay...I'll get the torch," she grumbled as she got up and made her way up the steps. It took a few minutes as Astrid fumbled in an unfamiliar house in the dark, quietly cursing a soft-hearted Hiccup for driving her insane with worry. She found it and switched it on, drawing comfort from at last having some light in this disturbingly dark world. Heading out the still opened door, she had to pause to draw on the last of her reserves to confront the forceful gales yet again. Just when she had thought they were safe, too.

She was soon kneeling beside Hiccup, searching under the floor boards.

"It's a dog!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Yay! They survived...But it's not over yet. Hiccup's still injured, and now there's a newcomer to their madness. Who is it? I'm sure you've all guessed by now :)**

* * *

"It's a dog," she told him in surprise, as she squinted to see a frightened black and white border collie huddled down, almost right under the middle of the house. "How are we going to get him out of there?" she wanted to know.

Hiccup said nothing, as he laid back and half shuffled under the house, towards the scared animal. He extended his hand to it, and called out softly, "Hey…you can trust me…come closer, little fella. We'll get you inside where it's safe… Come on." The pup must have found something soothing in the tone of Hiccup's voice, as he hesitatingly inched forward, his tail thumping on the damp earth in anxiety.

"That's it, boy. Come to me. I won't hurt you….I know you're scared, we are too," Hiccup crooned, encouraging the furry animal to come closer, it's eyes filled with anxiety. Astrid stayed still beside Hiccup, the rain pounding down on her back as she watched the pup wriggling forward. She didn't dare move in case she accidentally scared it and sent it rushing back under the house.

Hiccup's leg was throbbing badly, but he refused to focus on it, instead he kept his voice low to reassure the young dog. "You can do it. Just keep coming." He was soon rewarded when a wet nose pushed into his hand, followed by a nervous lick. Hiccup gave the pup a scratch under the chin, and the dog came closer again with much more confidence. "Hey…look at you…you're just like a cuddly, toothless bear," chuckled Hiccup softly, as he rubbed his hand through the long fur. The dog gave him a few licks to his chin. "Oh, you like that do you?" teased Hiccup. "Toothless, it is then," he laughed gently as the dog came right up to his chest and curled into it, licking him relentlessly and thumping his tail happily.

"I think you've made a lifelong friend," said Astrid breathily, amazed at watching the obvious connection between man and beast.

"Another lost soul on a stormy night," agreed Hiccup as he inched back out from under the house with the dog held firmly in his arms. Astrid stared fondly at the lanky man lying on the mud for a moment. He had rescued her too. In more ways than the obvious one. She didn't know how they were going to proceed from here, once the storm was over. But she wanted to be a part of his life…wanted him in her life…although she didn't know if he would be interested in seeing her ever again. Not after the mess she had created for him.

"Let's get you both inside, shall we?" she suggested, helping Hiccup to sit up while he had an armful of wet dog.

"Oh, pooh!" Astrid wrinkled up her nose at the smell. "A bath would be a good idea, too."

Hiccup laughed and Toothless lifted up his ears at the sound. "While I agree with that…I'm too exhausted to do much more than find some food and curl up somewhere warm and dry to wait out the rest of this storm," he told her, as the rain spattered in over them. Astrid nodded her approval, and helped him to his feet with a great deal of difficulty. He had to put the dog down first, and Toothless promptly shot inside the house, making them both giggle.

"Uh...does Fishlegs like dogs?" Astrid asked, envisioning all the damage one wet and muddy dog could do to a house, as she patiently supported Hiccup slowly up the stairs. Hiccup grunted as red hot spikes of pain shot through his leg. "He has a very pampered bulldog named Meatlug," he told her through clenched teeth, gripping hard on the door frame.

As soon as they stepped inside, both gave a sigh of deep relief to be finally out of reach from the demanding wind and freezing rain. Astrid kicked the door shut behind her, still holding onto Hiccup. "Safe at last," she whispered, readjusting her hold on Hiccup's waist. He seemed to sag a little as the burden of finding a refuge from the storm had now eased. He squeezed her shoulders briefly, but said nothing. They continued their unsteady path further into the house.

The torchlight showed them a trail of muddy paw prints leading into the main part of the house. Following them, they found a very satisfied dog rolling through the cushions on the couch, mud splattering everywhere as he dried himself off.

Hiccup and Astrid stopped in their tracks. "Hmmmm...can't see Fishlegs being too happy about his couch being used as a doggy drying post," he muttered in exasperation. "Toothless...down!" he said in a firm voice to the errant pooch. The black and white dog sat up eagerly and happily watched his new friends with his tongue hanging out in a big doggy grin...then went back to rolling on the couch. "Good to see obedience is his strong point," Hiccup sighed, as Astrid laughed. She suggested, "How about we tell Fishlegs it was damaged in the storm?"

Hiccup shrugged and pointed towards the bathroom where he knew his friend would have cyclone provisions already packed. Fishlegs was always well prepared for situations like this. Although he probably would never have expected an invasion by two friends and a lost canine as part of his game plan. But for now, the cold and exhausted pair were relieved to find all they would need in one room.

Entering the bathroom, they both sighed. It felt like they had come full circle, starting off in the bathroom at Astrid's now completely destroyed house...and ending up in their friend's much more stable and secure bathroom. Even though Fishleg's home hadn't completely escaped the carnage…they had seen evidence of damage when they entered….they weren't afraid of it being blown away from around them, regardless of how much the wind howled, enraged at losing its playthings.

A foam mattress was leaning up against the wall, with a clear plastic box of food and water on the floor in front of it. Another box with clothes and towels was beside that one. Hiccup knocked the mattress to the floor, and thankfully sank down onto it, with Astrid's help. She kneeled down and immediately went to tend to his leg, but he stopped her. "It can wait a bit longer. Food and water for you first," he told her firmly, pointing to the box with those items. She hesitated, but complied anyway, taking hold of the container and pulling it closer. Grabbing two bottles, she gave one to Hiccup and gratefully took a huge gulp from her own. "Ahh….much better," she sighed happily.

He chuckled, "Seems odd to need water, after nearly drowning in it, and enduring the world's longest shower." Astrid giggled, a small twinkle sparking in her tired blue eyes. They downed the water and a couple of muesli bars each without much more comment, except when Toothless came in searching for them. Astrid found a bowl for the dog, and gave him some water and dog biscuits.

Hiccup and Astrid were still hungry, but the gnawing pangs had been taken care of. Now, it was urgent they warm up and tend to their wounds, particularly Hiccup's leg.

"You need to get that wet shirt off," Hiccup ordered, as he removed his own. Astrid nervously objected, wrapping her arms around herself as she sat up against the cupboard. "Umm…I don't have anything else to wear."

"Look in Fishleg's box of clothes," he suggested. He was using his discarded shirt to give the muddy dog a wipe down as Toothless blissfully licked the air. Astrid reluctantly searched through the dry clothing till she found a t-shirt that was many sizes too big for her. She held it up, "I think you, me _and_ Toothless would fit in this."

Hiccup pointed to a towel from the same container, "Can I have that please?" She handed it to him. "It doesn't matter," he continued, drying his hair, before moving to mop the extra moisture from his wet jeans. "It's important you keep warm… even if you have to wrap it around yourself a few times," he added, with a small grin.

"Oh...okay...umm...can you turn around please?" Astrid asked timidly, spinning her finger in a circle. He gave a self conscious chuckle. "I can't turn around...how about I close my eyes instead?"

"Okay," she agreed. "But no peeking," she warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he assured her, covering his eyes.

Astrid waited a moment to make sure he truly had his eyes closed, then went to take off her soaked shirt. Unfortunately, while she was at a pivotal point with her arms up in the air and the wet shirt covering her head, Toothless chose that moment to trot over and poke her in the ribs with his wet nose, making her squeak and tumble over. "Toothless!" she gasped as she struggled to right herself while still tangled.

"Ahem..." coughed Hiccup as he fought against his laughter at the sight. "Here...let me help you," he offered gently, reaching over to pull her up and carefully take the sodden shirt off her outstretched arms, whilst averting his eyes as much as possible.

Astrid's cheeks were flushed a deep red with embarrassment as she mumbled "Thanks," and hurriedly put Fishlegs oversized shirt on instead. It was almost large enough to be a dress, and she had to knot it at the neck to stop it falling off her shoulder. When she felt she was properly covered, she meekly told Hiccup, who had obediently covered his eyes again, "I'm dressed now," although she was still blushing. He dropped his hands but couldn't help the smirk as she squirmed in shame.

"Nice dog you have there," she commented wryly, giving the offending canine a pat.

Hiccup rubbed the dog's furry head, as Toothless sat up against his chest with a wide, satisfied, tongue lolling grin. "He certainly has his talents," he agreed chuckling.

"Umm…yeah…anyway…can I take a look at your leg now?" she asked, trying to divert attention away from herself. She eyed off the raw rope burns around his waist. "Some of that needs attention too," she added.

Hiccup glanced down at his bare chest with all his battle scars from the awful night revealed. "Yeah, maybe. But we need to get that rope off you first," he told her. He had seen it still tied around her waist. "Is there a knife or something useful in any of those boxes?" he asked, pointing behind her. She twisted round to inspect the box, and located a small, sharp knife. She grabbed it to hack away at the rope, but the angle was all wrong, and as she sawed away, Hiccup noted with growing alarm, that she was about to impale herself.

Hiccup promptly shuffled over and put his hand out for the knife. "Here…let me do it," he offered. Astrid blushed again but moved closer to sit beside him. She held up the shirt as high as she dared, and sucked in her belly to give him space. The feel of his hands brushing against her sensitive skin set off a whole load of butterflies in her stomach, and she was relieved when he made short work of the rope, unravelling it and pulling it free. "There…done," he announced, throwing the rope remnants in the corner.

"We should preserve that…In memory of what it did to save our lives," she offered quietly. He nodded thoughtfully. "It certainly kept us together," he said vaguely, as he guiltily remembered how his decision to cross the flooded creek had almost ended in the ultimate tragedy.

"Thank you, Hiccup," Astrid said softly with her head down, as she sought through the boxes looking for a medical kit.

Hiccup looked up at her, but said nothing. Only nodded.

"And I'm sorry too," she added.

"For what?" he asked, surprised.

"For being so stubborn and not leaving when you first asked me too," she told him as she laid out some bandages and other items, her head still down.

He sighed gently. "We didn't know it was going to end up like this," he told her.

"Yeah…but I still should have realised that being unprepared was a bad move, not matter how small or big the cyclone was," she glanced up at him now, her voice starting to rise as she blamed herself for their misfortunes. "If I hadn't been so boar-headed, we could have gone back to your house and sat through the whole thing telling each other senseless stories, eating baked beans and cookies by candlelight. Instead, I had to prove how tough I was by doing this on my own, and then dragged you in to save my sorry backside and nearly got us all killed!" she chastised herself savagely as her distress and remorse came to the surface.

Astrid picked up the knife Hiccup had put down earlier, and angrily aimed it towards Hiccup's leg. He jerked his damaged limb out of her reach. "Woah!" he said hastily, putting out a hand to stop her. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked, his eyes wide with all the possible scenarios that could happen with an upset Astrid armed with a sharp knife.

"I'm going to cut the rope off your leg," she told him, confused at his reaction.

He chuckled nervously. "Well, let's try that again without all the rage, so it's only the rope that gets cut off...and not my leg."

She frowned at him for a moment before realising what he had said. She relaxed her grip on the knife and smiled sheepishly, "Er...sorry about that...I promise I won't do any harm to you...well, not on purpose anyway."

He rolled his eyes then snorted, "That just fills me with confidence."

She chuckled a little. "Are you afraid of little ole me?" she teased, learning forward with the knife.

"While you have a sharp implement in your hand, and I am virtually defenseless against you...then, yes!" he answered with a vigorous nod.

She laughed. "You hoisted me in a window while you were 'defenseless'," she reminded him. "I don't think I'm that scary!"

"Well, I beg to differ," he grinned back. "I'll skitch Toothless onto you if you hurt me," he threatened in a teasing tone, picking up the front foot of the now slumbering dog and pointing it towards her. Toothless sleepily raised his head wondering what the fuss was all about before dropping it back down with a heavy sigh.

"Ha! Some guard dog you have there!" she mocked. But she smiled and spoke in a softer voice, "I don't want to ever hurt you, Hiccup. You've already done more for me, than you'll ever know."

He paused at the genuine note in her words, wondering what she meant. He knew that before she had come crashing into his world, he had been suffering greatly. His father's death, and the years of rejection from so called friends, had taken their toll. And even though the two of them hadn't had a great start, she hadn't once rejected him. He didn't know what the future would hold after tonight. He felt that because she now had nothing, she would probably leave town and he would never see her again. He only knew that he wanted to be a part of her life, however small.

She resumed her task, but in a more relaxed way, cutting the rope with the knife before targeting the ripped jeans, carefully peeling them back to reveal the ugly wound underneath. Hiccup hissed in pain, gripping his leg.

"Sorry!" she told him, quickly washing out the wound with some saline and disinfectant, before pulling the swollen edges back together as best she could and firmly applying a wide bandage. "That's all I can do," she told him sorrowfully, glancing up at his pale face. He nodded in grim acknowledgement. She made short work of the large gash on his arm, and applied cream to his rope burns.

Astrid then tended to her own injuries, and Hiccup helped to apply cream to the raw skin on her back where she couldn't reach. By the time they had finished, both were so exhausted they could barely keep their eyes open. Toothless had taken over one half of the mattress, so Hiccup shuffled over and patted the space in between him and the dog.

Astrid hesitated, unsure of what he wanted. Her brain had already started to shut down, and she was feeling quite groggy. Hiccup tried again. "Come lie down here," he invited. "Toothless and I will keep you warm." Even in her sleep deprived state, she could recognize his intentions and was hesitant. But the idea of being cocooned, warm and safe, was a sensation her frozen body craved desperately. So she crawled over, and lay down on her side next to Toothless, whose warmth straight away leeched into her own making her sigh in contentment. But when Hiccup laid down and covered her completely from behind, his long arm draped over her hip, she felt nothing but bliss.

It was only a few moments before both of them slipped into a deep unconsciousness, their bodies closing down completely to begin the long, painful process of recovery. So they never noticed the rain easing, or the wind dying down. They didn't stir at the total quiet that followed the storm. Or notice the sun finally chase the dark night away, its bright light casting a cheery glow over a catastrophic scene of drenched devastation.

Even as the sun rose to its highest point, they didn't move. Not even when the sounds of chainsaws could be heard. Or when the door of the house they had 'borrowed' was opened.

Or when Toothless stood up over them, his fur on end….and he growled.


	13. Chapter 13

To say Fishlegs was surprised to find himself on the receiving end of a defensive canine in his own house, would be an understatement. He had evacuated with his dog, Meatlug, to the town's storm shelter last night, and had volunteered to be part of the cleanup crew as soon as the authorities had said it was okay. At the first opportunity, he had headed towards his own property where the road had been fairly clear of debris. He'd had to use the chainsaw to get past the driveway, but was relieved to see that his house was still standing, unlike many other homes.

It had been disheartening to see the damage left over from the fierce storm. There was barely a house left untouched, the damage ranging from windows blown out, or roof iron missing, to the entire roof missing in others. Walls had come down, trees had come down, cars had been crushed or swept away in flood waters. It was a very sobering sight.

The landscape around the small town of Berk would never be the same again, as practically every single tree had been stripped bare of its green foliage. The once lush forest stood as stark as a dessert with empty branches pointing towards the sky, the rain blasted white trunks a distinct difference from the tropical green that had been so familiar. Many of the grand old trees had fallen, and their loss would be keenly felt.

Heading up his driveway, Fishlegs could see that only one or two of the rare fruit trees he had grown over many years had survived on his own property and it saddened him. He approached his front door with trepidation, wondering how much damage he would find inside. There were two broken windows and a fair bit of water, but he had been most shocked to find a mud covered couch in his living room with muddy paw prints leading to….the bathroom. Where he found the culprit…and also his friend Hiccup, who was bare chested, sound asleep and wrapped around….Astrid?

The pair hadn't even moved at the noise the border collie was making as he stood guard over them, his hackles raised and his lips curled menacingly, showing very sharp teeth glinting in the light. "It's okay, boy." Fishlegs tried to calm the collie down with a soothing voice as his own dog happily ambled over. But not even Meatlug was able to placate the protective canine.

It seemed the only way out of this was to wake up Hiccup, even though their pale faces and the dark circles under their eyes showed that the two of them really needed their sleep. Whatever had brought them here to his house in the middle of a dangerous cyclone would not have been good. "Uh….Hiccup?" the husky man called out softly. The slumbering pair didn't even stir. "Hiccup?" he called out louder this time. Still no response. " _Hiccup_!" he yelled, finally getting a reaction.

Hiccup groggily rolled over, "What?" he mumbled as he stretched and yawned. He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to co-operate, so he let them stay closed. He was dimly aware of growling going on, but his mind was already drifting back to sleep. "Hiccup!" a sharp voice jerked him from his slide into oblivion. "What?" he grumbled, putting an arm over his eyes. "Your dog…call off your dog," commanded a familiar voice.

Hiccup sleepily patted his side, "Toothless, come here boy. It's okay," he mumbled. He reached out and a furry head pushed in under his hand, licking it. Hiccup smiled. "That's it. Stay here." He pulled the dog down beside him, and patted him affectionately. "Good boy," he murmured before sliding back into sleep once more.

Fishlegs sighed as he watched his friend fall unconscious. The girl by his side hadn't moved an inch in all the disturbance. There was nothing he could do, except leave them be for the moment. At least…Toothless? ….had stopped growling at him. Fishlegs set to work, cleaning up the mess as best he could while he waited.

It was a few hours later, before Hiccup and Astrid finally woke up, sleepy and disorientated. It was already afternoon and the light was flooding into their little room, making them screw up their faces with the harshness of it. Toothless thumped his tail in delight and stood up to give Hiccup a slobbery dog kiss, putting a paw on his stomach in his excitement. Hiccup doubled up and groaned, "Urgh… and good morning to you too," he muttered in a strangled voice. Astrid giggled softly.

"Actually...it's the afternoon," advised a different voice at the door. Hiccup squinted to see who it was. "Fishlegs! You're home!"

"I have been for a while now. What are you doing here with Astrid? And why is she wearing my shirt? What happened to you? And where did you get your dog?" Fishlegs asked in rapid fire.

Hiccup held up his hand defensively. "Woah, hold on a moment. We're still asleep," he protested as the pair sat up, rubbing their eyes. Astrid self-consciously attempted to smooth out her tangled hair, as she hid a cough. "Sorry about the mess, but we've had a rough night," he explained, grimacing as the movement jarred his leg.

"I can see that," said Fishlegs gently. "What happened?"

Hiccup wanted to get up, so Astrid and Fishlegs helped him out to the kitchen table where the young couple sat and explained all that had happened to them during that horrible night while Fishlegs made them hot chocolate, and fed them sandwiches till their stomachs were full. Toothless received some affection too with a bowl of dog food and water laid out for him.

Fishlegs had then sent Astrid off for a shower with some clothes his niece had left behind. She was grateful to be able to wash the dirt and knots out of her hair. While she was gone, the big man asked Hiccup quietly, "What are you going to do with Astrid?" It was a good question, since she owned nothing except the clothes on her back. Hiccup shook his head worriedly. "I don't know, Fish. I'd offer her a room at my place, but I don't even know if I have a house anymore. Plus she probably wants to leave as soon as she can, anyway. Why would she stay? Not after I tried to drown her."

"Do you want her to stay? " Fishlegs asked astutely, tipping his head sideways.

Hiccup didn't say anything for a moment, just turned to stare distantly out the window. "You know I had a crush on her at school? Turns out...I still do," he answered vaguely.

"So the answer would be yes, then?"

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah...but I can't see how that matters. She wouldn't be interested in me... not after all this," he gestured outside sadly.

Fishlegs patted his friends arm in sympathy. "Don't go writing yourself off just yet. Maybe you two should talk?" he suggested.

Hiccup shrugged. "Maybe."

Astrid surfaced from the bathroom, drying her long blonde hair with a towel. The two men looked up and Hiccup beamed. "You look like you belong in the land of the living again," he told her, as he glanced over her clean figure, all the mud and dirt gone and her blonde hair shining again.

She smiled slowly, "I feel like it too," she agreed. "What about you? You won't be able to shower," she said to him, frowning in concern.

Hiccup glanced over at his friend. "Fish is going to help me have a wash down…then I'm afraid I'll have to head in to the hospital." He indicated to his leg. "Need to get this sorted at some point."

"You'll have to come too," Fishlegs told her. "You should be under observation and make sure you're okay after nearly drowning."

Astrid tried to object, but neither Fishlegs nor Hiccup would hear it. So she had agreed to come along with them, even if she just wanted to curl up in a corner and never think about what she had lost ever again. For memories of the horrible night had come flooding back, now that they were safe and warm. But what hurt the most, was the loss of her beloved bird, Stormfly. She felt like she had lost her grandmother all over again. So while the two men were preoccupied in getting Hiccup clean, Astrid sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around the furry shape of Toothless as he sat patiently, comforting her with his presence.

"What about you, huh?" she asked him sadly, giving him a rub. "Where's your family? Are they looking for you, too?" she wondered. Astrid knew Hiccup would be sad to see the dog go. He already seemed to have such a close bond with the animal. But such a beautiful collie must have a devastated family waiting for him somewhere.

Astrid was at a total loss at what to do next. Literally everything she had, was gone. Even the clothes she wore belonged to someone else. Right down to the underwear. Her job was probably non-existent now, and she had nowhere to live. The most obvious solution would be to move back with her parents, but they lived in a city far away. It would mean she wouldn't be able to see Hiccup anymore. That hurt more than she thought it would. It had only been twenty-four hours since they had been so rudely shoved together, but it had felt like a lifetime. She recognized him as a kind and generous man, not one who would cheat or lie to her. Not like Eret. It cut her deep to think she couldn't have Hiccup in her life, but she didn't see how it would be possible. He probably couldn't wait to see the back of her anyway. She had only caused him strife so far.

Astrid sat staring at nothing as she thought of those green eyes gazing so warmly at her, and absently stroking the border collie's fur. So it was with a jolt, that she realised the same green eyes were now watching her for real.

"Oh, Hiccup! You surprised me," she told him, sucking in a quick breath.

He smiled, and she loved how it reached all the way to his eyes, crinkling them at the corners. "I noticed. I've been trying to get your attention," he teased lightly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, giving Toothless a final pat, as the young dog stood up and walked over to Hiccup, wagging his tail enthusiastically all the way.

"Hey bud," Hiccup greeted him. "You'll have to stay with Meatlug for a bit, okay? I can't take you to the hospital with me. But I'll be back," he promised, as Toothless solemnly stared at him.

Turning back to Astrid, he asked, "Are you ready to go?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I've got nowhere else to be."

Hiccup held out his arm for her, and she walked over to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be doing. "I'm sure we'll think of something," he reassured her quietly. He tried to joke, "Can't have you leaving the day after you got here. There's still so much more of Berk to see."

"Well…there used to be," she added with a small smile, as she helped him towards the rear of the house.

They were just about to exit through the door, when Astrid heard a very familiar sound. She stopped dead in her tracks, nearly causing Hiccup to topple over. "What was that?" she asked faintly, not daring to believe.

"That…" Fishlegs answered her. "…would be a very lucky little bird." He pointed towards a cardboard box sitting on a bench with air holes poked in the sides. "She came fluttering into the shelter during the storm, very ruffled and exhausted. We put her in the box to keep her warm. We figured she must belong to someone because later on, she started to talk."

Astrid felt her hopes dash. Her bird didn't talk. They'd tried to teach her, but she never did.

"You know…it was funny," added Fishlegs casually as they continued walking. "It sounded very much like she was saying, 'Beautiful Astrid', but that can't be right."

Astrid stopped abruptly again, causing Hiccup to sway forward. "Woah, Astrid…at least warn me before you put the brakes on," he complained, reaching out to grab the door frame and stop himself tumbling down the steps.

Astrid couldn't believe it. Those were the words her grandmother had tried to teach her bird. But it had never worked before. She hesitantly asked, "Is she a little blue-green parrot?"

Fishlegs eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How did you know?"

Hiccup looked just as surprised as he released Astrid so she could see for herself. Carefully pulling back the flaps, Astrid peeked inside the box….and there she found Stormfly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Final chapters here at last! Thank you to everyone who followed, reviewed and favorited...I never thought this story would achieve anything like what it has! It has been fun while it lasted :)**

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Fishlegs took Hiccup and Astrid to the hospital where both had to be admitted. The emergency ward had been swamped with injured people, both from the survivors of the cyclone...and those attempting to use chain saws afterwards, with little to no idea of what they were doing. Just a gung ho attitude that led them straight to the surgical unit. If they were lucky, they would keep their digits and limbs. If they weren't...well, enough said.

And ladders...why did people insist on climbing unstable ladders, only to be surprised when they were flung off, straight onto the hard ground below? To the medical staff, the results were very predictable. But for the three friends, the hardest part had been the deaths. They saw the families of the two young men who had been caught in a flooded car, hunched in the corner of the waiting room, quietly crying and consoling each other. Hiccup and Astrid couldn't help but stare, thinking just how close it came to them being the ones losing their lives. They glanced at each other, eyes open wide in the shared silent message...'that could have been us'.

It had taken a while...mostly spent in contemplative silence...but eventually it was their turn to be examined. Hiccup had been taken away to the surgical ward to be prepped for emergency surgery, and Astrid was admitted for tests on her flooded lungs and treatment for her injuries. Fishlegs left soon after, so Astrid had found herself on her own, sitting in a lonely hospital bed with busy staff rushing past. She sat there, arms curled around her knees and started rocking.

Fishlegs had promised to look after Stormfly till she was able to do it herself, and Astrid was beyond ecstatic to have her beloved parrot back again…especially after she had believed her to be gone forever. Astrid's thoughts turned back to when she and Hiccup had been attempting to leave the old house, and the cage had snagged on a branch and burst open. She had been so adamant about staying to search for the little bird, even though it was obviously futile. By delaying so long, she had endangered their lives.

Maybe if they had left straight away, the creek might not have been so high….maybe they could have made it. And maybe Hiccup would not have had to suffer such a serious injury. She wondered if he'd had his surgery yet. She hoped he was going to be okay. Astrid dropped her head on her knees as she sunk into a depression about all the mistakes she had made. Why would he ever forgive her? Even with the best result, he would have a huge scar to remind him of what she had done. At worst, he could lose his leg. That was a serious possibility. Dismay struck her in the heart. She hoped that didn't happen. How would he manage on his farm?

Hiccup still didn't know if his house had survived or not, as Fishlegs had told them the roads out to his place would likely take several days to clear. Hiccup was worried about his animals, and Fishlegs had promised to do his best to find someone who could check on them for him. Astrid felt guilt strike again. If only she had gone with him the first time Hiccup had asked. Then everything would have been alright. Yes…she would have still lost all her belongings…but that would have been preferable to the heavy weight of remorse which hung around her neck like a massive anchor, dragging her down.

Astrid didn't know how long she sat there, hunched over with tears trickling down her cheeks as she became lost to her own soul-destroying thoughts. So she was startled when a gentle hand landed softly on her shoulder. "Astrid?" a feminine voice called quietly. Astrid jerked her head up. "Huh?"

"Astrid?" the nurse asked again. Astrid nodded to confirm that was her name.

"I was asked to deliver a message for you." The nurse smiled encouragingly. "Hiccup has been asking for you. Would you like to visit him?"

Astrid immediately sat up straighter and wiped her cheeks. "Is he okay? Has he had his surgery? Is his leg alright?" she asked in an unsteady voice.

The nurse smiled kindly. "Why don't you find out for yourself? I can take you there," she offered, and Astrid was quick to accept. She was soon padding down the hallway behind the nurse, towards the surgical ward, her heart in her throat as she worried about what she would find. The nurse stopped in front of a door, indicating for her to go in before walking away.

Astrid stepped slowly forward, unsure of what to do. Pausing at the door, she stared at the figure in the bed. He was dressed in one of those paper hospital gowns that never seemed to cover enough, and buried under a few blankets to keep him warm following his surgery. The top half of his bed was slightly elevated, and for the moment, his head was tilted to one side as he slept peacefully. An intravenous line was attached to his hand, and she could see antibiotics being drip fed into his veins. Fortunately, she could also see the shape of two legs under the covers. She sighed in relief.

Stepping in, she went to sit quietly on the chair beside him, but he must have heard her, as he blearily looked up, then gave a wobbly smile. "You're here," he said softy, still a little dopey from the anesthetic.

Astrid leaned forward anxiously in her chair, "Are you okay? Did they fix your leg?" she asked, her voice heavy with concern.

He shifted in the bed. "Yeah…I'm good. I'll have to stay on crutches for a while, though. You?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. They gave me antibiotics to take. And if my cough gets any worse, I'll have to get it checked out again."

He gave a slight nod. "Okay." There was an uncomfortable pause as each struggled to find something neutral to say….and not the questions they desperately wanted answered.

Hiccup started first. "So…uh…Fishlegs. Is he still here?"

She shook her head. "No…he left soon after they brought you in here. Said he was going back out to help with the clean-up."

"Good man, that Fishlegs," Hiccup added, shifting to sit up a little higher in the bed. Another long pause.

"So….any idea when they're going to let you out?" Astrid asked, as she distractedly picked at her fingernails.

"They want to keep me in for another day or two...to stop any infection," he told her. He tried to be calm about it, but he couldn't help staring intently as he asked, "What about you? Are they keeping you here?"

"Only till tomorrow. Especially since I told them I had nowhere to go," she told him matter-of-factly.

Hiccup glanced sharply at her. She was obviously trying to be brave, but the way her head hung low and she avoided his gaze told him she wasn't okay.

He reached out to take her hand in his, making her look up in surprise. He was earnest when he told her, "I would love to offer you room in my house...except I'm not sure if I _have_ a house at the moment. But if I do...would you like to stay with me? Till you get sorted, of course," he stuttered at the end, blushing slightly at his own bravery...or foolhardiness. Maybe both.

Astrid was shocked at the offer. It was the last thing she expected to happen.

"But...why would you do that?" she began, then hastily tried to explain when she saw the hurt look in his eyes. "I mean...I almost got you killed last night! And you lost your truck because of me...you almost lost your _leg_ because of me!" she told him wildly, pulling out of his grip and standing up. She turned and paced across the floor restlessly, flinging her hands up in the air. "I mean...you're such a nice guy, and you were so kind to help me out even when I was being such a stubborn mule about it...and you stayed with me when you could have...when you _should_ have...left. And you...and you... _saved_ me, Hiccup." She stopped her flustered rambling to stare at him, her brows pulled together with anxiety. "I know you're only helping because you feel sorry for me, but I had really hoped that maybe...maybe we could be friends?" she asked hesitantly, wincing as she waited for him to firmly refuse.

Hiccup couldn't believe what he had just heard. He could only stare at her with his mouth gaping as he realised, all this time he had been worried about her wanting to leave him...she had been worried about the same thing!

He smiled warmly at her and gestured for her to come closer. He stretched out his hands and she put her smaller ones in his. "Astrid...before you came back and literally blew my world apart, I wasn't doing so great. I haven't been the most popular guy in town, and when dad died…well, let's just say it hurt. A lot. Then you came along…I'd say like a breath of fresh air, but it was more like cyclonic proportions…" Astrid giggled a little. "…and you never rejected me once... We had to get through a little hard work together…" Astrid rolled her eyes. "…but we did it. You and me... You have done more for me than I thought possible. You gave me hope, Astrid. Something to live for. But this whole time, I had been so sure that you would hightail it out of Berk pronto, and I'd never see you again..."

Astrid's eyes opened in understanding. "You thought that ….I…would want to leave… you?" she asked incredulously. He nodded.

Astrid shook her head energetically, "No, no, no, no….Hiccup, no! You make me feel safe and respected. I know you would never cheat or lie to me." He shook his head in confirmation. She stopped and gazed at him solemnly. "You make me feel that perhaps…just perhaps…there is some good in this world. That there's something more than douche bags and workaholics out there."

He raised an eyebrow at this, as he rubbed his thumb over her hand. "Workaholic? Aren't you the definition of the word?" he asked pointedly.

She blushed, but didn't pull away from him. "Yeah…that would be me. But I've realised something…having good friends, and spending time with them, is much more important than killing myself for some corporation who'll pay me some dollars, give me a pat on the head if I'm lucky…then drop me the first second I show an interest in having an actual life."

Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Yeah…I get that. Been there too. Part of the reason I came back to the farm was to get away from the pressures of working in town. Being out in the open…makes me feel more alive. I still have to work hard, don't get me wrong…but there's a reward in every moment of the day. The satisfaction of achieving something worthwhile…even if it is only for the cows."

Astrid giggled, and she sat on the edge of his bed, shifting to rub his arm with the back of her hand. "Sounds wonderful. You know…if you're house is still there…I'd like to take you up on your offer."

Hiccup pulled back a little in surprise. "You would?"

She nodded. "Yes, doofus…I would. But only if Stormfly can come too."

He grinned broadly. "Stormfly is more than welcome. We might teach her a few new words," he teased.

Astrid groaned. "I think I'm going to regret this already," she complained, but smiled anyway. "Maybe she and Toothless will become good friends," Astrid said with a hopeful lilt to her voice.

At the mention of the black and white collie dog, Hiccup's gaze softened and he grinned fondly. "Yeah…he's a pretty neat dog. If no one comes to claim him, he'll be welcome at my place…if Fishlegs hasn't spoiled him rotten before then."

Astrid laughed. "Somehow…I think you'll have your hands full with that pup."

He nodded in agreeance. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

She leaned forward and gently tapped him on the nose with her finger. "Rule number one….I'm always right," she told him lightly.

He smirked. "Laying out the rules already, are we? What's the next one?"

Astrid gave an impish grin, "Rule number two…refer to rule number one."

Hiccup laughed. "I can see I'll going to have my hands full with you, too!" he decided.

Astrid gave a short nod. "Yep!" she told him cheerfully.

He pretended to grumble. "Between a cheeky dog and a determined blonde…I've lost control over my own house." But the huge grin on his face showed he wasn't really complaining.

Astrid smiled. "So..." she asked. "I guess that all means yes to being friends?"

Hiccup studied the woman before him. She had said the question so casually, but he could see in the rigid line of her jaw, and the half-hidden anxiety in her eyes, that she was still worried about his answer.

"Astrid...I would consider it my greatest privilege and honor to be your friend," he reassured her sincerely.

Hiccup felt he must have said the right thing as he saw relief flash across her features. And he felt relief too. It seemed they might just have a chance after all. He added in a solemn voice, "Now all we need is a semi-functioning house for a skinny man with a serious limp and a headstrong blonde...and we're laughing."

Astrid chuckled, but gave him a thankful gaze. "Thank you Hiccup. I really appreciate all you have done for me. You truly are a good friend."

Impulsively, she took his face captive in her hands and kissed him. It took Hiccup a moment before he caught on, but then he returned it, the kiss deepening into something that caught both of them off guard. It spread a warm glow through Hiccup's chest and lit a fire deep in the pit of his stomach.

His hands gently spread across her back, pulling her closer. They eventually broke apart, breathing a little heavier as desire flickered in both their eyes, and they stared longingly at each other.

"Friends, huh?" he teased quietly, as he held her loosely in his arms.

Astrid grinned. "Yup, friends…and maybe a little more."


	15. Chapter 15

Twelve months later, Hiccup and Astrid were strolling down the main street of Berk, Toothless by their side. They were talking quietly and laughing with each other, their hands loosely intertwined. Stopping at a café, the two ordered coffees and a slice of cake each, before sitting at a small table outside to await their order. Toothless sat on his haunches, leaning against Hiccup's leg and panting madly. Hiccup gave him a loving pat, before turning his attention back to the blonde in front of him.

Reaching over, he took her hand loosely in his, playing with her fingers. "Can you believe it's been a whole year since the cyclone?" he asked her, smiling as he gazed affectionately into her bright blue eyes.

She shook her head. "No, honestly I can't. So much has happened since then. What with having to start all over again and helping you rebuild the farm... Plus the book…I never realised how much support it would gather."

Hiccup chuckled, "Well, you were asking people to talk about themselves…and how heroic they were in the face of a disaster. Berk is not exactly known for its collection of humble and shy people."

"Mmm," she agreed with an amused smirk. "Why is it that Snotlout immediately comes to mind when you say that?"

He laughed. "The epitome of the standard Berk Viking. Muscular, loud…and completely shameless!"

She laughed with him, and he paused to listen to the musical sound, one he had grown very fond of over the last year. He'd had plenty of time to become used to it, as she had moved in with him once their friends Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout had helped clear a path back to the farm.

Hiccup had been very grateful for her presence, as his leg had taken several weeks to heal properly, hampering his ability to work. Astrid had jumped in without complaint, taking on the lion's share of the chores, helping to rebuild fences and sheds and bringing the damaged house back to order. All this despite having her job as well.

The advertising agency had obligingly granted her some time off to put her own life back together…and help him with his…before sending some people over to get her new office ready to start again with the original intention of promoting local business to a broader market.

In the process of doing all this, Astrid had heard many accounts of survival and heartbreak during the category 5 cyclone… but also many stories of courage, self-sacrifice and love as the people of Berk pulled together and rallied round to support one another, and to rebuild. To Astrid and Hiccup, it had become more and more obvious that these stories needed to be told. And with Astrid's background in promotion and advertising, she had become the most appropriate candidate to compose the town's recollections and publish them in a book.

It had been launched a month ago, and had achieved great success already. Memories of the night of the biggest storm in recent history had not yet faded, and people were keen to have a little touch of memorabilia to remind them of what they had survived. Plus they really wanted to see themselves in print. Especially Snotlout. Hiccup was sure the man had purchased about twenty copies of the book, ready to hand out to unsuspecting ladies with his story page already marked out.

"You worked really hard on that book," Hiccup told Astrid proudly. "You deserve all the praise for its success." He smiled warmly at her.

She smiled demurely. "Thank you. But I've had a lot of help...especially from you." She patted his hand in thanks, leaning forward slightly. "But what about all you've done...you're working with the council now, doing everything to get Berk back on its feet. People are even calling for you to be the next Mayor! What an honor!"

Hiccup shrugged modestly. "I only wanted to help...and I couldn't do any of the clean-up work...so I offered to assist with the planning instead."

"Hiccup...you were practically running the entire show within a few days," she scoffed at his modesty. "If it wasn't for you, Berk would have been in complete chaos."

He gave a small lopsided grin. "I did what I could, and luckily for me, it worked."

Astrid hummed at his self-deprecating words, but said nothing more. She and everyone else knew what he had done...even if he had trouble believing in his own worth.

Their coffee and cake arrived, and the two gave a smile of thanks to the teenage girl delivering it. She smiled shyly in return. The young waitress knew who the young couple were. They had been the subject of much excited whispering out the back of the shop, as soon as they had stopped to give their order. The two had been high profile workers in the rehabilitation of the town of Berk for the last twelve months, and almost everyone had a story to tell of their interaction with either of the pair. Both were known as dedicated and caring advocates of Berk and its people. Which was part of the reason why Hiccup now had a bevy of supporters calling for him to be voted in to the top job. He was still considering it.

Hiccup complimented their waitress for her efficient service, and she smiled broadly at the praise. "Thank you," she responded politely before turning back to the shop. She gave a silent squeal, and screwed her face up in excitement as she drew closer to her colleagues. A brush with fame would give her bragging rights for quite some time…

Astrid noted the girl's reaction in amusement, before focusing back on Hiccup. He hadn't even noticed, as he was giving Toothless a loving rub down, and the border collie was lapping it up. She smiled fondly at the pair. "I don't know if I should be jealous or grateful to that scamp," she laughed. Hiccup's head snapped back up, with a slightly guilty look.

"Sorry," he pulled a face. "He's my best bud. I don't know what I'd have done without him. He's been so wonderful on the farm…and at home." Hiccup glanced back down at the black and white canine.

"I know," Astrid responded softly, watching the two friends for a moment more. "It's a wonder nobody ever came forward to claim him," she commented thoughtfully, tearing open a sugar packet and tipping it into her drink.

Hiccup came back to his cup, taking a sip of the hot beverage. He pulled a face as the heat scalded his tongue. "Well, we did try to find his owners…but nobody responded. So, finders keepers I suppose," he shrugged, pulling his slice of cake closer, and picking up the fork.

Toothless immediately stood, and half raised his body up so that one paw and his snout were resting on the edge of the table. He gave Hiccup a pitiful look, which Astrid laughed at. Hiccup turned to glare at his dog, the cake suspended in midair towards his mouth. "What? You want my cake too?" he questioned. Toothless continued to give him the 'sad puppy' look, and Hiccup sighed. "How can I say no to that?" he demanded from Astrid.

She giggled, then pulled her own 'sad puppy' look, putting her hands under her chin. Hiccup groaned and rolled his eyes. "Not you as well," he complained. He shook his head in resignation. "I've got no hope, have I?"

Astrid grinned broadly, "Nope!" she confirmed cheerfully. Hiccup gave a lop-sided grin, and shook his head again, conceding defeat as he broke off a piece of cake for the hound still begging at the table. Toothless grabbed the food with great enthusiasm, dropping back to the ground and scoffing it down quickly. Hiccup stared at his dog, "That's an extra lap around the cow paddock for you, mister," he threatened light-heartedly.

Astrid laughed, as she tucked into her own unviolated piece of cake, but not before stealing a corner of Hiccup's cake first. "Hey!" he protested. "Mmm….delicious," she teased, savoring the piece right in front of him. He tried to stab her cake in retaliation, but she pulled it out of the way. "Nope….mine," she declared defensively, with a glint in her eye that let him know if he persisted…it would be on.

"No fair!" he protested. She waved him away with her fork, "Go eat your own cake," she ordered. He grumbled, "I would if there was anything left of it," but he took to what was left of his food regardless, enjoying it immensely.

Astrid had a wide smile as she turned back to enjoy the rest of her dessert, rapping Hiccup over the knuckles with the back of her fork when he tried to stealthily filch the last piece of her cake, his own already finished. Sighing in contentment, she picked up her coffee cup and sat back, her hands wrapped around it as she gazed absently at the surrounding countryside, visible between the buildings. The hills were green again, but it was all an illusion. The trees had not regrown…in fact, most of them probably never would. The green was nothing more than vines that had taken over the bare frameworks the old trees had provided. It would be many decades before the forest fully recovered. But they were on their way.

Hiccup was watching Astrid closely, her contented expression bringing him great pleasure. Twelve months ago he had been quietly grieving the loss of his father, wondering how he was ever going to face life again. Then Astrid had literally dropped in on him, and turned his life upside down. Because of that turmoil, he had felt he would again lose the one good thing that had ever happened to him, but she had surprised him by wanting to become his friend.

And that's what they had been for several months, before slowly but surely, they couldn't deny the inevitable anymore…they were in love. Now Hiccup couldn't ever imagine life without her by his side. Together, they could get through anything. They'd already proved that when they fought a category 5 cyclone…and won.

Hiccup's thoughts were interrupted, when she asked vaguely, "Do you think we'll get more rain?" He turned his attention to the cloudy skies around them. He shrugged, "Maybe…why do you ask?" She continued to stare out over the forest, "Oh, you know….just checking for the big event this weekend," she answered vaguely.

The Mayor's daughter was getting married, and they had been invited. Hiccup chuckled, and she turned back towards him, a quizzical look on her face. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Oh, I just thought of something," he teased, knowing she would keep bugging him till she found out.

"What?" she demanded, right on cue. "Share!"

"Well…you know the old saying…" Hiccup started to say as he leaned slightly to one side to allow his fingers entry into his jeans pocket. "…how rain on a wedding day is supposed to bring good luck." Astrid smiled and nodded. He pulled something out of his pocket, and keeping it hidden inside his fist, he brought his hand back up to the table. "Well…what sort of luck do you think a cyclone would bring?" he finished casually, using his second hand to open up the tiny box he now revealed to Astrid. She had started to chuckle at his question, but when she saw what he held, her jaw dropped open and her eyes opened wide as her glaze flicked between his loving expectant expression and …the diamond ring he held before her.

"Uh…umm…did you….?" she spluttered, completely lost for words as she kept glancing at the ring, than back to Hiccup's smiling face.

He kept the ring on display as he reached over to gently take hold of her limp hand. Rubbing small circles on the back of it, he asked more directly, "Astrid…will you marry me?"

Astrid had been completely thrown by the moment, but when he gave the clear indication of what the ring truly meant, her face split into a broad grin, and tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "Yes! Oh, Hiccup! Yes…I'll marry you!" she exclaimed excitedly, extending her trembling hand so he could place the ring on her finger. Hiccup could barely contain his joy as he took the ring from its box, and using both of his hands, he gently pushed it onto her wedding finger.

"It fits," he breathed triumphantly to himself, as Astrid gave a shaky laugh. She pulled her hand back to twist the golden metal, investigating the new sensation of the slight weight and the realization of what had just happened. She admired it for a moment, before turning to the beaming man before her. "Come here, you adorable thing," she demanded, half rising from her seat as she reached over to cup his face with both her hands, and drawing him to her for a sweet, long kiss over the table.

She released him, sitting back in her chair. He took hold of both her hands in his own, the huge delighted grin having never left his face. He picked up each hand in turn, kissing both before lowering them.

Astrid smiled, gazing lovingly into his deep green eyes. "You know…I am so glad I came to Berk that day."

He raised an amused eyebrow. "You're glad you landed in the middle of a cyclone?" he asked.

She nodded. "If I had stayed away…I would never have met you."

He raised the other eyebrow. "Even though all your belongings were destroyed?" he checked again, not sure she really remembered what had happened.

She grinned, tilting her head slightly. "Yup…'cause nothing I owned came close to replacing what I have with you,"

He laughed, "That's so corny."

She insisted, "But it's true. I may have lost some stuff, but look at what I gained… good friends, a wonderful community, a great job, a home… and most important of all….the most endearing, funny, kind, and loving husband-to-be a girl could ever wish for," she teased lightly.

He smiled delightedly and blushed, but nodded anyway. He leaned forward to meet her waiting lips for a brief moment before turning his head slightly to whisper into her ear.

"All because of one stormy night."


End file.
